Grace Century, American University of Ras Al Khaimah partner on internship program

Grace Century recently completed three months of work with its first student from the American University of Ras Al Khaimah (AURAK) Internship Program: Adam Dzhamalov of the Russian Republic of Chechnya.

Grace Century is a private equity and research company based in the United Arab Emirates (UAE).

Dzahmalov received professional guidance from Grace Century staff as he helped develop the Trail Project, led by Grace Century chief executive officer Scott Wolf and Dr. Lincoln Pettaway, an assistant professor of business administration at AURAK.

Wolf was impressed with Dzahmalov's skills and enthusiasm.

"When Lincoln first approached me and told me about Adam, I immediately saw this as a win-win scenario," Wolf said. "We were helping our stem cell bio bank project, Provia laboratories, initiate a joint venture to open up the Russian market. Local knowledge was crucial to help us formulate a strategy. Adam was able to research and write an in-depth report on all aspects of the market including demographics, competition and infrastructure -- this was vital knowledge to help our Russian counterparts and brought true value to the table on our part."

Wolf and Pettaway felt it was important to incorporate real-life experience into the project.

"I think that the internship program is an essential part of study for students because it provides a window when the individual has an opportunity to implement their theoretical knowledge obtained at university and apply in real-life practice," Dzahmalov said.

Encouraged by how well the pilot project went, Pettaway is already planning to expand the AURAK internship program.

"Ras Al Khaimah provides a wealth of training opportunities for our students," Pettaway said. "Unlike Dubai and Abu Dhabi, current internship opportunities tend to be a lot less competitive in AURAK than elsewhere; with innovation taking place now with companies like Grace Century and others, we hope to grow the program and make internships a more prominent feature of our students' learning and education profiles."