The Second International Conference in Project Management

MUBS organized the Second International Conference in Project Management in Lebanon entitled “Deployment of Organizational Project Management Practices” under the patronage of the Federation of Chambers of Commerce, Industry & Agriculture in Lebanon.
The conference took place on the 19th of May 2016 at MUBS’s University Center for Training and Development in Jal El Dib.

The speakers discussed the significance of project management and its impact on the private and public corporations, as well as the influence of project management in privatization.
Speakers during the event included MP Mohammad Rahal, representing Prime Minister Saad El Hariri, Dr. Hatem Alamy, Chairman of the Board of Trustees at MUBS, Professor Jassem Ajaka, Consultant to the Minister of Economy, Mr. Ziad Hayek, Secretary General of the Higher Council for Privatization, Mr. Mazen Halawi, representing the Central Bank of Lebanon, Mr. Marcello Mori, representative of the European Delegation in Lebanon, in addition to Dr. Manal Abed Samad.

Outdoors 2016

On May 8, MUBS held its annual Outdoors at its Aley campus. MUBS Outdoors 2016, sponsored by BBAC, started off with more than 100 high school students who took part in the Spring Race. MUBS Marketing students from the Aley, Damour, Hamra, and Semkanieh campuses also astonished everyone with their brilliant projects that were displayed during the event under the theme “The 60’s/70’s Historic Era of Lebanon”. The event also incorporated a talent show for MUBS students who rocked the stage with their outstanding performances!

This year’s event was hosted by TV presenters Raja Nasser Eldine and Rodolph Hilal who hyped up the audience as they welcomed the stars Nassif Zeytoun, Nadine El Rassi and Bassem Moughnieh.

Many thanks to our students and to the Aley campus staff for organizing an astounding event!

Optometry Workshop at UCTD

Academics, students, and professionals attended the first optometry workshop entitled “Optometry: an Inspired Career Choice” organized by the School of Health Sciences. The workshop was held on April 21st, 2016 at the University Center for Training and Development, MUBS, Jal el Dib.

A panel of guest speakers presented an array of topics related to the field of Optometry. Professor Ahmad Jammal, represented by Mr. Abd El Mawla Chehabeddine opened the first session by shedding light on the importance of having a B.Sc. degree in Optometry in Lebanon. The role of the Ministry of Public Health in setting legislations was highlighted by Mr. Antoine Romanos, Head of Department, and Medical Professions at the Ministry of Public Health. Then, the President of the Lebanese Syndicate of Opticians and Optometrists Mr. George Hawat, gave an overview of Optometry and what the Syndicate has done so far for developing this field. Dr. Liana al-Labadi, Head of Optometry Division and Program Director at an-Najah National University, Palestine, shared her experience by pinpointing to the attendees the difference between opticians, optometrists, optometry doctors, and optometrists with a PhD degree. She then presented a comparison between the curricula given at different universities in the Arab World.

A special session was arranged to introduce the audience to the Eastern Mediterranean Council of Optometry (EMCO) presented by the President of EMCO, Mr. Hassan Awada. Dr. Mahmoud Hakim, who discussed the career opportunities in the Optometry field, presented the final session.

MUBS Better Together Gala Dinner

MUBS International School of Business (ISB) Special Events Management class, Aley Campus, organized a Gala Dinner at Al Koukh restaurant in Aley on Friday May 13th, 2016 under the title of ‘Better Together’. More than 200 people attended the dinner including a number of Aley esteemed persona in addition to MUBS administration and faculty.

“Better Together” Gala Dinner was held to create the Student Assistance Fund at MUBS. The funds raised during the gala dinner will be used to ensure that the younger generation at Aley attains every opportunity to flourish and join higher education classes.

Instashop Rebranding Competition

Congratulations to our Graphic Design student Dayana Abdelkhalek who won the Instashop Rebranding Competition.  Neam Aboul Hosn was also announced as the second place winner and Christina Ismail as the third place winner.

Instashop is a grocery delivery application that is based in Dubai. The client requested from our students to tweak their current logo and to work on their identity image.

Congratulations to all our creative designers. You always make us proud!

Congratulations to Dr. Ahmad El Zein

Congratulations to Dr. Ahmad El Zein for publishing his first book entitled “The Latest Perception in Leadership: The Five Dimension Model”.
“The book provides a new standardized model in leadership, which aims to present a unified definition in the field. The chapters of the book provide explanations for each factor in the model with practical questions at the end of each chapter. Ms. Reem BouZeinddine, faculty member at MUBS, also contributed by writing a chapter in the book, while MUBS’s Education major student Shafika El Gharib assisted in developing the introductory chapter of the book”, says Dr. Zein.
The book-signing event was held on April 9, 2016 in Tyre.

MUBS Campuses Cup

MUBS Sports Department ended the spring semester by organizing the MUBS Campuses Cup 2016 for the university's staff and faculty members.
Congrats to MUBS Beirut Campus for their victory in Mini Football against Damour Campus (12-7).

Lebanese Army Martyrs Cup in "Pistol Shooting"

Congratulations to our students Alaa Al Ashkar and Sara Malaeb who participated in the Lebanese Army Martyrs Cup in "Pistol Shooting" on Saturday April 23.

Alaa Al Ashkar won the first place among 22 universities (males category) while Sara Malaeb ranked fourth among 16 other contestants (females category).

A Groundbreaking Virtual Exchange Program with Stanford and other American Universities at MUBS

In recent years, so much has been made on the role of globalization in bridging cultural distances and educational disparities among countries and across borders. The tools for such lofty goals have mostly focused on online learning and the ability of faculty and students to communicate and benefit from each other’s expertise and research. In Lebanon, and despite the hype, we have generally lagged behind in utilizing all available routes to promote active exchange of knowledge and information. Institutions that have taken the lead in this exchange and movement towards globalization were either resorting to very limited face-to-face exchange, or passive online learning. The former method is complicated by the political instability in the country, and the former has been proven by research to be of limited long-term benefit as it lacks student engagement and face-to-face interaction.
At MUBS, we have always valued active, participatory, and interactive learning environments. We aspired to bring that same philosophy to our exchange programs. As a result, we have embarked on a pioneering program with Stanford University in California, USA to start the MUBS Virtual Exchange Program that allows MUBS and Stanford University students and faculty to study and work together on a daily basis in select courses and utilizing world-class educational platforms created by Harvard, MIT, and developed by Stanford (Stanford EdX Lagunita Platform).

The benefits of student exchange are vast and multi-layered. Beyond interactive learning in classrooms of 25 students or less, across borders to exchange information and discuss academic material that culminates in a common project presented by groups of four students (each group contains 2 American and 2 Lebanese working on a daily basis through videoconferencing and common course work), the benefits of this exchange are cultural and long-lasting.

Human beings tend to form positive stereotypes of those they resemble, and negative stereotypes of those who are different, creating in-groups and out-groups. Stereotypes are then used to explain behaviors not only of groups, but also of individuals. Such attitudes reduce complex realities, simplifying the multiple causes of human behavior to a single factor. Furthermore, stereotypes can be difficult to suspend because they are also typically linked to strong positive or negative emotions—depending on the nature of the stereotype. When such stereotypes are used to explain behavior, to evaluate performance, or to predict the potential of individuals and groups, conclusions that are reached using such flawed categories will also be flawed.

Unfortunately, we can detect the negative repercussions of stereotypes in our national and international communities. As educators and professionals from MUBS and Stanford, we will try to make our students cognizant of the explanatory frameworks used to judge others, especially out-group members, when working with individuals. Such cognizance is necessary for an objective and realistic understanding of specific communities.

For many decades, educational institutions have set up face-to-face student exchanges to help counter stereotypes and broaden perspectives. In spite of its benefits, though, face-to-face exchange is a difficult and expensive form of educational experience, one that is more often available to students from rich nations, and requires these students to have the means and flexibility to live far away from home for an extended period of time. As a result, we have developed this exchange because our experience suggests that cultural trait stereotypes held about life in the Middle East and the United States can be altered to become more differentiated and objective by engaging students at MUBS and American universities in a cooperative, group educational activity, mediated by technology.

In every field, today's professionals routinely collaborate with counterparts across multiple borders and oceans, sometimes meeting face-to-face and sometimes meeting through the intermediary of technology. Ease and fluency in these settings is an important professional asset. As a foundation, the exchange will use a form of problem-based learning to help prepare students for this kind of professional collaboration. Developed by faculty and researchers in both the U.S. and Lebanon, the exchange will also emphasize cross-cultural learning, and through new media and technologies it will promote collaborative learning. Working in cross-national teams and empowered with digital tools, students will be tasked to solve the same kinds of problems that they will soon be tasked to solve as professionals, with counterparts they may continue to know long after their common course has ended.

As students at MUBS, the Virtual Exchange Program with Stanford will help prepare students to join this century's global workforce. This innovative and pioneering program is a testament to our university’s impeccable record in academic circles on the international stage. We are currently planning on expanding our courses to include common courses with Georgetown and George Washington University, which sends a signal on what MUBS is striving to achieve and the standing we hope to realize among the top-ranking universities in the world.

Dr. Nael Alami
VP for Research & Innovation | MUBS