Dr Catherine Demangeot who has been involved in Strathclyde Business School's UAE centres for the past 18 years is leaving to take up a new post in Paris. On June 15, a group from the Dubai alumni community gathered to say farewell to Catherine, a fellow alumna and Strathclyde senior lecturer.
Joining as a student in 1996 - the year the Strathclyde MBA was launched in Dubai - Catherine will be remembered by almost every student who has passed through the two UAE centres. Catherine has in turn been student, alumna, local counsellor, lecturer, and alumni committee member – indeed, there would seem to be no role that Catherine has not thrown her energy and enthusiasm into and excelled at.
The group met at Catherine's favourite Mexican restaurant in Dubai where it took up a large swathe of the restaurant. It is testament to how many Strathclyders' lives Catherine has touched over the years that there were alumni representing almost every intake. Many reminisced on the inspiration and support they had received from Catherine during their studies. One alumni, Adil Driver, whose project Catherine supervised, described her as the best mentor of his entire life.
The occasion was formally marked with speeches, gifts and group photos. Loretta Myers, committee member and fellow student from the 1990s, gave a stirring tribute to Catherine and the immense contribution she has made to the Strathclyde MBA community over the years. She described her as one of the driving forces behind the Dubai alumni and the catalyst behind many bold initiatives. Catherine, she said, was always there to offer advice and encouragement, and to persuade alumni to lend their support.
The Dubai Committee then presented Catherine with a Kashmiri shawl and a crystal hologram engraved with a personalised inscription from the Dubai Chapter. She also received a framed montage of photos from the Abu Dhabi Chapter in recognition of her support during this inaugural year of the chapter.
Catherine described her 23 years in the UAE as a very memorable time in her life but of Strathclyde she said, 'I don't think there is anything that is ever going to replace the Strathclyde community in my heart, and I will always be a proud Strathclyder.' She described the fun she'd had as a lecturer, the privilege of knowing so many amazing students over the years and how the smiles of students on their graduation day had given her professional life so much meaning.
She went on to describe her experiences with the Dubai alumni committee and said she was humbled by the skills, enthusiasm and generosity that the committee members and broader alumni community gave to each event to make it a success. Catherine said her parting wish was that the Chapter pursue a networking theme in the coming year so that the community could better leverage the power that the network had to offer.
Catherine, who will always be a Dubai alumna, could find herself virtually attending committee meetings or back on occasional assignments in the near future. She and her family are moving to Paris later this month where she is taking up a new post at IESEG as Associate Professor. She left the group not with a goodbye, but with the French,'A bientot!' - see you later!