Rana Sobh

Theme: Strategic Innovation

Summary of Leader’s Initiative

The Middle East and North Africa (MENA) Business Schools Alliance for Sustainability (MEBAS) is an alliance of 19 AACSB-accredited or engaged business schools across the region. Established in 2023 by Qatar University’s College of Business and Economics, the alliance drives collaboration in curriculum, research, and community engagement to address regional sustainability challenges and advance impactful, collective solutions.

Leader’s Motive for Initiative

Business schools today carry a profound responsibility in shaping the leaders of tomorrow and in steering the global agenda toward sustainability. In the MENA region, this responsibility is particularly pressing. The region faces a set of unique sustainability challenges—from water scarcity, reliance on hydrocarbons, and climate vulnerability to rapidly growing populations and youth unemployment.

These challenges are compounded by systemic higher education issues, such as the persistent gap between academia, industry, and policymakers. Too often, research and teaching remain siloed within universities, while businesses and governments move forward without the benefit of academic insight. This disconnect limits the transformative role business schools can and should play in society.

At the same time, there is a strong need to demonstrate relevance and leadership in business education. Globally, accreditation bodies and stakeholders increasingly demand that business schools demonstrate societal impact and embed sustainability and responsible management into their missions. For MENA schools, this is not just a compliance issue but a moral imperative. We must prepare our graduates not only to succeed in the marketplace but also to address the pressing societal and environmental issues facing our communities.

Fortunately, the region is not short of resources or talent. Across MENA’s universities are bright and ambitious students eager to contribute to positive change, alongside faculty engaged in world-class research with local and global relevance. The culmiation of these factors represents an untapped opportunity to mobilize intellectual capital for sustainable transformation. By harnessing this potential collectively rather than in isolation, business schools can accelerate progress and amplify their impact.

The opportunity lies in collaboration. No single institution can overcome the scale and complexity of the challenges alone. By uniting under a shared vision, business schools can pool expertise, share best practices, and co-create innovative solutions tailored to the region’s context. Through joint research projects, collaborative teaching initiatives, and industry partnerships, schools can bridge the gap between theory and practice while influencing policymakers and business leaders to adopt sustainable approaches.

This strength of collaboration is what prompted the creation of MEBAS. The alliance provides a dynamic platform for exchange—bringing together leaders, faculty, and students from across the region to learn from each other, innovate together, and drive collective action. It enables member schools to remain at the cutting edge of sustainability education while also ensuring that their graduates are prepared to become responsible leaders who advance sustainable practices in business and society.

Leader’s Contribution to Initiative

When Rana Sobh assumed the role of dean of the College of Business and Economics at Qatar University over three years ago, she set out with a clear ambition: to make a meaningful difference in business education and its role in shaping society and creating positive social and environmental impact. Very quickly, she realized that no matter how strong the vision of one school may be, the ability to create true impact would remain limited if her school acted in isolation. The challenges facing the MENA region—climate change, water scarcity, youth unemployment, and the need for economic diversification—are complex, systemic, and interdependent. Addressing them requires collaboration that transcends institutional boundaries.

This realization inspired Sobh to take bold action. She conceived the idea of uniting the region’s leading business schools around a common purpose: advancing sustainability. What began as a vision became a mission she championed relentlessly. She engaged fellow deans from across the MENA region, persuaded them of the urgency of joining hands, and built the trust and momentum necessary to establish the MENA Business Schools Alliance for Sustainability, or MEBAS, in 2023.

As the founding president of the MEBAS executive committee, Sobh has not only steered the alliance’s strategic direction but also ensured it became more than just a symbolic initiative. She positioned MEBAS as a practical platform for collaboration in research, curriculum development, and community engagement. Under her leadership, the alliance has grown to include 19 AACSB-accredited or engaged business schools across the region. Together, the alliance is building the intellectual and educational infrastructure to prepare graduates to lead responsibly and to empower MEBAS schools to serve as catalysts for sustainable transformation in business and society.

Sobh’s leadership has gone beyond institution-building. She has used every platform available—local, regional, and global—to advocate for this vision. From international conferences to high-level regional forums, she has consistently highlighted the importance of collective leadership in embedding sustainability into business education. These efforts have not only elevated the visibility of MEBAS but also positioned the MENA region as an active contributor to the global dialogue on responsible management education.

The impact of this leadership is already visible. Faculty across the MEBAS member schools are collaborating on joint research and case studies relevant to the region. Students are engaging in shared competitions and sustainability challenges that build their skills and awareness. Policymakers and industry leaders are beginning to see business schools not as distant academic institutions but as vital partners in shaping sustainable economic and social progress.

The journey of creating MEBAS is, at its heart, a story of leadership grounded in conviction, collaboration, and perseverance. By turning a vision into a regional reality, Sobh has sought to demonstrate that when academic leaders join hands, they can transcend limitations, amplify the impact of their schools, and inspire the next generation to see business not only as a driver of profit but also as a force for good.

Impact of Leader’s Initiative

Through bold leadership, Sobh transformed a vision into a vibrant alliance and digital ecosystem that amplifies collective strengths across the MENA region. Faculty are better resourced, students more engaged, practitioners more connected, and communities better served.

• Impact on Business Schools and Faculty: MEBAS has expanded opportunities for collaboration and professional development across the MENA region. More than 50 faculty members have benefited from in-person and virtual case-writing workshops, supported by structured mentoring. This initiative has resulted in the development of several sustainability-focused teaching cases, addressing the shortage of locally relevant resources.
  
  Specialized training further advanced faculty capacity. A 30-hour workshop with the U.N.’s International Labour Organization produced an innovative Sustainable Supply Chain Management package, now integrated into member curricula and influencing classroom practice and corporate policy. It promotes fair wages, workplace safety, and inclusivity, and is freely available on the MEBAS platform. Similarly, a high-impact workshop with HEC Paris equipped faculty with advanced simulation tools for teaching sustainability, enriching experiential learning across business schools in the region.
• Impact on Students: Students remain at the heart of MEBAS activities. The inaugural Regional Sustainability Game Competition, hosted at Qatar University in April 2024, engaged hundreds of student teams across member schools. Complementary initiatives, such as the Corporate Social Responsibility Video Competition, brought together students from different countries, enhancing critical thinking and problem-solving skills while deepening their understanding of balancing profitability with environmental stewardship.
  
  Cross-border participation fostered both regional identity and global awareness. Thousands of students have also benefited from learning packages and master classes shared through the MEBAS platform.
• Community and Ecosystem Impact: The alliance has positioned business schools as catalysts for sustainability by collaborating with global organizations such as the International Labour Organization, Principles for Responsible Management Education, and How to Change the World. These partnerships have produced practical resources with wide reach, including a MOOC on sustainability reporting soon to launch on edX, expanding access to high-quality training for students, professionals, and policymakers.
  
  Moreover, the alliance’s Certificate in Innovation and Entrepreneurship, offered in Arabic, builds youth capacity to unlock opportunities and promote sustainable entrepreneurship and innovation—empowering them to devise creative and sustainable solutions to regional challenges, including those related to sustainability.
  
  The CSR Summit, organized for two consecutive years, has become a flagship regional initiative. With over 8,000 participants—including policymakers, scholars, and industry leaders—it provides a powerful platform for dialogue, knowledge exchange, and cross-sector collaboration. It also exposes students to real-world debates while connecting businesses and policymakers to research-driven insights and innovative practices.
• Digital Transformation: Perhaps the most transformative outcome is the MEBAS digital platform, a one-stop hub for sustainability in business education. It centralizes case studies, teaching resources, training opportunities, and calls for research and funding.
  
  For faculty, it accelerates collaboration and scholarly output; for students, it opens global learning and networking opportunities; and for practitioners and policymakers, it provides applied research insights and access to emerging talent. Supported by a robust monitoring framework, the platform ensures accountability, continuous improvement, and the amplification of regional impact.

Additional Information

• LinkedIn Profile, Rana Sobh
• MEBAS: MENA Business Schools Alliance for Sustainability
• Innovation and Entrepreneurship Certificate, Qatar University