The first Esraa Mansy Inspiring Female scholarship has been awarded to Aida El Bouanani, an engineering graduate from Morocco who has just started her MBA at our Dubai centre.The first Esraa Mansy Inspiring Female scholarship has been awarded to Aida El Bouanani, an engineering graduate from Morocco who has just started her MBA at our Dubai centre.
Strathclyde Business School offers the Esraa Mansy Scholarship in memory of an outstanding female MBA student at Strathclyde's UAE campus. It was set up with the hope that the scholarship would motivate and support deserving Strathclyde businesswomen to persevere in the achievement of their own MBA and, no matter the challenges at hand, continue to pursue their dreams, just as Esraa did.
Esraa applied to the Strathclyde MBA in Dubai at the unusually young age of 24, and was accepted thanks to an impressive display of persistence, talent, and maturity. Born and reared in the UAE, she was of Egyptian descent, and brought to the Strathclyde MBA a Bachelors degree in Pharmaceutical Sciences, several years of professional experience, and a winning combination of intelligence, confidence, and dedication. An excellent student, Esraa’s natural leadership abilities led her to be widely considered an ideal team member on group projects. Esraa was furthermore a tremendous ambassador of the Strathclyde MBA, and her own presence on the programme inspired many other students to follow suit and apply to the Strathclyde Dubai centre.
Unfortunately Esraa fell ill with a serious autoimmune disorder during the strategy module in year two of her Strathclyde MBA. She continued on with the programme classes and assignments nonetheless, rarely letting on to classmates about the severity or prospects of her illness. Sadly Esraa passed away in July 2012 and she was awarded her degree posthumously.
Candidates for the scholarship have to be female applicants to, or students on, the international part-time MBA programme at one of the UAE centres (Dubai or Abu Dhabi). Candidates have to demonstrate through their experience, achievements and ambitions that they have the ability to overcome hardships and that they intend to use the Strathclyde MBA to achieve personal or professional goals that will have a positive influence on society.
Aida was considered the ideal candidate for the scholarship due to her career history to date, her excellent academic record, her confidence, and her ambition: her goal is to become a regional general manager of leading multinational FMCG (fast moving consumer goods) company before she hits 40. On top of all that, Aida volunteers for a local charity and is a black belt in Aikido.
Aida said of the scholarship news: "I'm so proud and honoured that I've won this scholarship. It’s really energizing and empowering, and I'm so glad I chose Strathclyde for my MBA!
"The Strathclyde MBA will be an outstanding opportunity for me to unleash my full potential and to stand out in a fierce and very competitive workplace."
Ron Bradfield, Director, Strathclyde Business School UAE, said, "Overall, we considered Aida a very strong candidate for the MBA programme and also for the UAE Esraa Mansy scholarship. We wish her all the best with her MBA experience and look forward to seeing what she can achieve."