Staff Profile

Mohammad Meraj MBA PGCHE EFQM Assessor

Biography

Mohammad Ali Meraj is part of our Senior Management Team responsible for our Academic Professional Services and Quality. He is an expert educator and senior leader with over 15 years’ experience within the higher education sector in the United Arab Emirates. He leads our Careers and Employability Services, the Centre for Academic Success, the Library, the Quality Office and the Student Office. He is also the University’s key contact for external stakeholders like Dubai Government’s Knowledge and Human Development Authority and the UK’s Quality Assurance Agency (QAA). 

His postgraduate qualifications were completed at Australian (MBA) and British (PGCHE) institutions. His teaching experience at Middlesex University includes MBA modules in Marketing Management and Business Excellence and TQM along with final year undergraduate modules in Strategic Planning and Marketing and in Entrepreneurship and Small Businesses. Over fifty (50) postgraduate dissertations and entrepreneurship projects have been completed under his supervision.

During his career as a practitioner, he has successfully established new departments in the fields of institutional research, quality management and customer service, earning several Excellence awards in the process. He has demonstrated excellence in improving bottom-line results through mapping and enhancing (cost-savings) critical business processes, accomplishing digital transformations of key student support functions, developing comprehensive policy manuals (efficiency gains), writing submissions and feasibility studies for accreditation purposes (business development) as well as preparing comprehensive reports, briefs, press releases, and web content.

He has professional training, certification and experience in project management, research methodology and quality management.  He possesses a sound understanding of the cultural sensitivities and business practices in the UAE and thorough knowledge of popular educational systems (UK, EU, Australia and the Commonwealth national qualifications frameworks).

Qualifications
  • International Quality Assurance Programme (IQAP), The Quality Assurance Agency for Higher Education (QAA), United Kingdom, 2014
  • Postgraduate Certificate in Higher Education Teaching & Learning (PGCHE), Middlesex University, United Kingdom, 2012
  • EFQM Certified Excellence Assessor Training, The European Foundation for Quality Management (EFQM), Belgium, 2011
  • Master of Business Administration (with Distinction), University of Wollongong, Australia, 2005
  • Bachelor of Business Administration, University of Wollongong, Australia, 2003
Awards and Achievements
  • Service Excellence Award for the most outstanding employee, Middlesex University Dubai, 2011
  • Microsoft Award for ‘Top Graduating Student’, University of Wollongong in Dubai, 2003
Membership of professional bodies and associations
  • Fellow of the UK’s Higher Education Academy (HEA)
  • EFQM Certified Excellence Assessor
Professional Practice
  • Senior Assessor for Dubai Quality Global Award (DQGA) for FMCG sector – a Business Excellence Award scheme run by Dubai Government’s Dubai Economy Unit
  • Senior Assessor and Deputy Team Leader for Dubai Quality Award (DQA) for applicants from UAE’s Education, FMCG, Retail, Financial Services and Facilities Management Sectors – a Business Excellence Award scheme run by Dubai Government’s Dubai Economy Unit
  • Senior Assessor and Deputy Team Leader for Sheikh Khalifa Excellence Award (SKEA)for applicants from UAE’s Education, Construction and Retail Sectors – a Business Excellence Award scheme run by Abu Dhabi Government’s Chamber of Commerce & Industry (ADCCI)
  • Senior Assessor and Deputy Team Leader for Dubai Human Development Award (DHDA) for applicants from UAE’s Banking Sector, Telecom Sector and Retail Sector – a Business Excellence Award scheme run by Dubai Government’s Dubai Economy Unit

Research Interests

Services Marketing, Consumer Behaviour, Transnational Education (TNE), Technology Adoption

Selected Publications, Presentations, and Abstracts
  • Karnik, A., Kishore, P. and Meraj, M. (2020) ‘Examining the linkage between class attendance at university and academic performance in an International Branch Campus setting’, Research in Comparative and International Education. 2020 (Sep). pp. 1-20. http://dx.doi.org/10.1177/1745499920958855. (Open Access Online)
  • Anup Chandar and Mohammad Meraj (2019). “Quality Culture and Burnout: A qualitative study of early career employees’ expectations in the Indian oil and gas industry” Paper Presented at the First International Conference on Technology, Innovation and Sustainability in Business Management (ICTIS) in Dubai (hosted by Middlesex University)
  • Laxmi Nair and Mohammad Meraj (2018). “Put yourself higher up on your own ‘to-do’ list’!Work-life Integration and Leaveism – A Systematic Literature Review” , Paper Presented at the Fourth International Conference on Emerging Research Paradigms in Business and Social Sciences in Dubai (hosted by Middlesex University)
  • Mohammad Meraj, Cedwyn Fernandes, Kieran Ross, (2016). Applying marketing mix constructs in higher education: the case of an MBA program in the UAE. International Journal of Business and Globalisation, Vol 16 Issue: 2, pp.149-170. DOI (Permanent URL): https://doi.org/10.1504/IJBG.2016.074488
  • Ajit Karnik, Mohammad Meraj, Pallavi (Nov 2016) “Examining the Linkage between Class Attendance and Academic Performance”, Paper Presented at the Third International Conference on Emerging Research Paradigms in Business and Social Sciences in Dubai (hosted by Middlesex University)
  • Mohammad Meraj, Anita Shrivastava Kashi, and Lynda Hyland, (Nov 2016) “Impact of incremental rewards on motivation in a marketing simulation task: An exploratory qualitative study”, Paper Presented at the Third International Conference on Emerging Research Paradigms in Business and Social Sciences in Dubai (hosted by Middlesex University)
  • Cedwyn Fernandes, Kieran Ross, Mohammad Meraj, (2013) "Understanding student satisfaction and loyalty in the UAE HE sector", International Journal of Educational Management, Vol. 27 Issue: 6, pp.613 – 630. DOI (Permanent URL): 10.1108/IJEM-07-2012-0082
  • Mohammad Meraj, Cedwyn Fernandes, Kieran Ross (Nov 2013) “Importance of Marketing Mix constructs for MBA programmes in the UAE”, Paper Presented at the Second International Conference on Emerging Research Paradigms in Business and Social Sciences in Dubai (hosted by Middlesex University)
  • Cedwyn Fernandes, Kieran Ross, Mohammad Meraj, (Nov 2011) “Antecedents of Satisfaction of Students as Customers and the Impact of Loyalty in a Hypercompetitive Environment” Paper Presented at the First International Conference on Emerging Research Paradigms in Business and Social Sciences in Dubai (hosted by Middlesex University)

Faculty Members