U21Global Strengthens Team for Consumer Business Market

Recent appointment reflects the premier online graduate school's ongoing expansion in the Gulf and its continued commitment to enhancing students and alumni services

Dubai, UAE, 19 October 2008 - As part of its expansion in the United Arab Emirates and GCC, U21Global, the world's premier online Graduate School, has appointed Salma Ahmed as Manager, Graduate Education Programmes. She will be responsible for launching and growing various services, including the school's UAE students and alumni chapter association.

Salma, who is based in Dubai and joins U21Global from St. Xavier University in Chicago where she was Assistant Director of Campus Life, will also be responsible for developing similar organisations and activities for students and alumni across the GCC and in Africa.

"Given Salma's background and extensive experience, she is ideally positioned to help build our consumer business in the GCC by creating networking environments for students and alumni that form such an integral part of the learning experience at leading graduate schools," said Vikram Tah, Managing Director, Middle East, Africa and Pakistan for U21Global.

In her previous role at St. Xavier University, Ahmed oversaw the planning, scheduling and implementation for over a 1,000 new and transfer students, as well as assisted with first-year retention initiatives. Her other responsibilities included advising the Student Activities Board, coordinating with student clubs and organisations to develop leadership and multicultural programmes and conducting seminars to first-year honour students to introduce them to university life.

Highlights of her past professional and leadership experience include serving as a Career Counsellor Intern for the Career Advising & Planning Services of the University of Chicago; an Orientation Coordinator at the College of St. Catherine in St. Paul, Minnesota, USA; an International Admission Assistant in the Multicultural & International Office at the College of St. Catherine, and an Academic Enrichment Advisor for GETSET (McKinsey and Company).

"While leveraging the tremendous benefits of online education, U21Global also recognises the importance of face-to-face interactions. That is why we incorporate classroom sessions in some of our courses and why these students and alumni groups are so important," Tah added.

Commenting on her appointment, Salma Ahmed said, "U21Global is at the cutting edge of online education globally and a leader in this field in the UAE and wider GCC. I look forward to developing the school's consumer programmes and launching these important networking organisations that will assist our students, alumni and their employers to stay up-to-date in these fast-growing and competitive markets."

With the goal of enhancing the students' experience through events that revolve around their interests, the students and alumni chapter association will also enable knowledge development and encourage mutually beneficial business relationships. These associations will serve as a forum for students and alumni to develop and share ideas, innovations and best practices.

U21Global is backed by an international network of leading research-intensive universities in 11 countries and leverages its online delivery infrastructure to provide substantial learning advantages through a convenient medium that enables learners to balance work, business travel and family life.

About U21Global

Established in 2001, U21Global is the world's premier online Graduate School that offers globally recognised graduate programmes. The graduate school is backed by an international network of leading research-intensive universities in 11 countries. U21Global combines the traditional quality of its founders with innovative modes of delivery on the Internet, providing students with substantial learning advantages, while balancing work, travel and family life.

U21Global has successfully enrolled students from 60 countries around the world including those from Asia, Australia, Africa, Europe and the Americas. The graduate programmes draw upon the best practices in online learning and pedagogy and have been approved by U21pedagogica, an independent quality assurance body which ensures that the curriculum meets the rigorous academic standards of all the affiliated universities. For more information on U21Global, please visit our campus at www.u21global.edu.sg

U21Global's affiliated universities include: North America: Tecnológico de Monterrey, University of Virginia; Europe: Lund University; University College Dublin, University of Birmingham, University of Edinburgh, University of Glasgow, University of Nottingham; Asia: Fudan University, Korea University, National University of Singapore, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, University of Delhi, University of Hong Kong, Waseda University; Australia: University of Melbourne, University of Queensland.