Postgraduate degree in Luxury Management to be available in the Middle East from 2019

The University of Wollongong and Politecnico di Milano’s Graduate School of Business (MIP) will collaborate in creating a 12-month part-time postgraduate degree programme in luxury brand management which aims to hone in on the untapped potential of such programmes in the Middle Eastern market.

With the ever-growing presence of luxury brands in cities such as Dubai, the programme aims to develop the knowledge and expertise of luxury brand professionals in the industry, focusing primarily on luxury brand management and the trends of emerging brands.

Both establishments in the partnership boast an impressive reputation: Opening in 1993, the University of Wollongong Dubai (UOWD) was the first foreign university in Dubai - and remains its largest - reflecting the distinguished reputation of the University of Wollongong Australia, while MIP has offered prestigious business and managerial courses for over 30 years. The two bodies aim to combine their expertise to create refined and long-term postgraduate programmes.

A programme designed and developed for luxury brand professionals

The programmes developed for UOWD are planned to offer part-time, intensive formats to allow flexibility with the busy schedules of working executives, while also offering experiential activities, such as travel to luxury shopping capitals, factory tours, meetings at luxury brand headquarters and mystery shopping.

In a statement, Professor Alex Frino,Deputy Vice-Chancellor (Global Strategy) at University of Wollongong Australia, said “UOWD is excited to partner with MIP Politecnico di Milano to explore the development and future of Luxury Brand Management in the UAE.”

Frino added that the initiative “recognises the commercial and cultural significance of the luxury market in the Middle East. We anticipate that the degrees will be significant for executives across all luxury categories including fashion, jewelry, automotive, travel, food and wine”.

Professor Andrea Sianesi, Dean at MIP Politecnico di Milano, emphasised the importance of this newly created partnership: “We’re pleased to partner with the University of Wollongong Dubai (UOWD) to develop new postgraduate programmes in luxury brand management in the Middle East. Indeed, this collaboration offers to MIP both the chance to gain useful insights on education in the Gulf Region and to create new synergies in the field of Luxury Management.”

While the course is still pending accreditation, they hope to offer their first classes in late 2019, with prices and class sizes still to be decided.

Photo credit: Facebook, Louis Vuitton