Darden Worldwide Course Takes Students to Bahrain

08 May 2023

Every eligible Darden student in the full-time MBA program can take a Darden Worldwide Course and receive a Batten Foundation Darden Worldwide Scholarship to cover the program course fee. Darden Professor June West recently led a group of Second Year students on a week-long travel course to the Kingdom of Bahrain. Darden students have been visiting the region since 2001.

The course explored Bahrain’s role in the global economy as a hub of petrochemicals, finance and trade, and its strategic geopolitical location within the Arabian Gulf. Students met with senior leadership from an impressive range of companies and organizations, including:

Aluminum Bahrain (Alba), a key commodity exporter accounting for nearly 12% of the country’s GDP, and a longtime Darden partner and host of the DWC and the Darden students.
U.S. Naval Central Command & U.S. State Department, where leaders discussed Bahrain’s strategic importance and role within the Middle East.
Alhi United Bank, where leaders discussed conventional Islamic banking practices and growth strategies.
Coca-Cola Middle East
Bahrain Institute of Banking & Finance, a Darden partner within the Gulf Development Program, which is designed to bring senior executives from the Gulf region to Darden for leadership programs.
Vitol, one of the world’s largest private Energy and Commodities Trading companies
Mumtalakat Holding Company, the sovereign wealth fund of Bahrain and owner of McClaren Racing and the Bahrain Formula 1 Circuit
Supreme Council of Women, an organization of leading women in business and government

Group photo of Darden Worldwide Course students, teachers and hosts at Vitol.

Group photo of Darden Worldwide Course students, faculty, staff and hosts at Vitol.

The Darden Worldwide Course students and staff were grateful to all of the companies and speakers who welcomed the group to such an amazing country, and to Dr. June West for sharing her more than twenty years’ experience working within the Gulf region.

Take a look at just a few photos from an amazing course!

Rear Adm. Sean Bailey, deputy commander of U.S. Naval Forces Central Command (NAVCENT) and U.S. 5th Fleet, and David Maher, Political Officer of the U.S. Embassy in Manama, Bahrain, pose for a photo with a group from University of Virginia’s Darden School of Business, March 16, 2023, during their visit to Bahrain. The group received an overview on U.S. 5th Fleet's mission and role in regional maritime security. (U.S. Navy photo by Mass Communication Specialist 1st Class Helen Brown)

Rear Adm. Sean Bailey, deputy commander of U.S. Naval Forces Central Command (NAVCENT) and U.S. 5th Fleet, welcomes 26 students from University of Virginia’s Darden School of Business to NAVCENT, March 16, 2023, during their visit to Bahrain. The MBA students received an overview on U.S. 5th Fleet's mission and role in regional maritime security. Students were also briefed by David Maher, Political Officer of the U.S. Embassy in Manama, Bahrain. (U.S. Navy photo by Mass Communication Specialist 1st Class Helen Brown)

Group photo of Darden's visit to Aluminum Bahrain (Alba) headquarters. Alba Chairman Shaikh Daij bin Salman bin Daij al-Khalifa, CEO Ali Al Baqali, and COO Dr. Abdulla Habib are alumni of Darden’s The Executive Program (TEP) and the Gulf Development Program.

Sean Solomon and Moriah Horner don jumpsuits and hardhats at Darden's visit to Aluminum Bahrain.

Darden students geared up to race go karts at the Bahrain Grand Prix.

Double Hoo Farid Masood, Managing Director at Vitol Group, guided Darden students at Vitol.

Darden student Tyler Brown studies oil prices on the trading floor at Vitol.

Darden Professor June West: Best Teacher!

Student Brandon Gilbert on Darden's tour of the Coca-Cola Bahrain bottling plant.

This Darden Worldwide Course was based in Manama, Bahrain.

In addition to attending the course itself, students sometimes take the opportunity to do independent travel in the region before or after their academic pursuits. These Darden students visited Dubai before the course in Bahrain.

About the University of Virginia Darden School of Business

The University of Virginia Darden School of Business prepares responsible global leaders through unparalleled transformational learning experiences. Darden’s graduate degree programs (MBA, MSBA and Ph.D.) and Executive Education & Lifelong Learning programs offered by the Darden School Foundation set the stage for a lifetime of career advancement and impact. Darden’s top-ranked faculty, renowned for teaching excellence, inspires and shapes modern business leadership worldwide through research, thought leadership and business publishing. Darden has Grounds in Charlottesville, Virginia, and the Washington, D.C., area and a global community that includes 18,000 alumni in 90 countries. Darden was established in 1955 at the University of Virginia, a top public university founded by Thomas Jefferson in 1819 in Charlottesville, Virginia.

Press Contact

Molly Mitchell
Senior Associate Director, Editorial and Media Relations
Darden School of Business
University of Virginia
MitchellM@darden.virginia.edu