4 minute read
Broadening horizons in the UAE
178
STUDENTS HAVE TAKEN PART IN WESTMINSTER WORKING CULTURES SINCE 2017
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76%
OF STUDENTS TAKING PART COME FROM A WIDENING PARTICIPATION BACKGROUND
60
“I normally take out the Bentley in the morning and save the Ferrari until the evening… only kidding! But ‘what car do you drive?’ is often the first question people ask when they hear you live in Dubai.”
Rehan Khan, originally from south London, gained his MA at Westminster in 1995 and built his career with BT until 2003, when he left his job and the city to pursue new challenges in the Middle East.
“We moved to Bahrain and then Dubai, where I worked in an array of other industries, including executive education, media and property development. I rejoined BT in 2011 and my current role is to lead the team which undertakes digital consulting assignments for BT’s Top 200 global customers.
“For us as a family, Dubai has been a very positive experience, as I think the city provides a space for people from the vast milieu of cultural spectrums and beliefs. Outside of my day job I write historical fiction novels, and for an artist, Dubai provides tremendous scope for stretching one’s thinking and imagination. If the city becomes too overwhelming, then the empty desert is less than an hour away and you can always escape into the high mountainous peaks of Oman, which is only a few hours’ drive from here.”
Our Westminster Working Cultures programme continues to expand, and last September we took 16 students on an inaugural trip to the Middle East to experience the ultra-modern, bustling business environments of Dubai. One of our hosts, alumnus Rehan Khan (Applied Social Research MA, 1995), describes his motivations for welcoming our students and shares the perks of working in one of the world’s most glamourous cities.
Dubai is one of six destinations now on offer to our students as part of the Westminster Working Cultures programme, which has grown every year since its launch in 2017. As a student mobility opportunity, the shortterm programmes give undergraduates, who may otherwise not have the means to travel, the chance to enrich their student experience and global outlook by visiting businesses around the world. Our international alumni and partners are fundamental to the success of the programme, as they generously volunteer their time to host the students and run educational sessions at their workplaces.
ALUMNI HAVE HOSTED OUR STUDENTS AT THEIR WORKPLACES
“I had the pleasure of meeting some students from the University,” says Rehan, “and we had a really engaging session
in which I shared some life lessons and heard from them about their goals and aspirations for the future. These types of exchanges are always emotionally and intellectually rewarding, for both parties.
“I was most keen to teach them not to follow their passion. In research, when university students are asked about what they are passionate about, most come back with answers like dance, football, skiing, swimming. For 99.9 per cent of students, none of these passions will become a career. Instead, I suggest making a distinction between a job, a career and a calling. For example, my calling is that I’m a storyteller. Outside of my job and career I pursue this calling by writing historical fiction, but I know it won’t pay the bills. Instead of shooting for the stars and ending up in the wrong constellation, take things in stages, because at the start of a career you students also visited the Coca-Cola bottling plant, Emirates NBD, Santec International and Tigerspike Dubai, among others. Beyond the sessions, they can explore the cities, and discover more about the culture and how differs from London.
really don’t know what you are going to love doing.”
To ensure students get the most out of the trips, their itineraries are packed with activities. For example, while in Dubai,
“Traditionally Emirati culture places a lot of emphasis on conservation, community and deference,” explains Rehan. “This makes sense, because in the harsh desert climate the tribes who survived were the ones who could conserve precious natural resources, such as water and shade. They were the ones who bonded together through ties of kinship, so forming a sense of community. And to survive in such a desolate place, you needed to have people with vision who could lead their followers and garner the respect of others, so deference. As a result, these three cultural traits, conservation, community and deference, permeate the culture and it’s important for a visitor to understand and be in tune with this.
“Hosting students was an excellent experience. Engaging with people who are different brings us together around the common challenges we all face. These types of encounters broaden our horizons, open new doors into worlds we never knew existed, and in doing so, make us humbler. Surely, that can only be a positive trait for a society to collectively achieve.”
Above: Students were welcomed to Tigerspike’s Dubai office during the Westminster Working Cultures trip
Westminster Working Cultures is made possible thanks to the generous funding from the Quintin Hogg Trust, Santander Universities, and private donors.
Thank you to all our alumni and supporters who have contributed to the programme all over the world. If you would like to get involved, please email workingcultures@westminster.ac.uk
