Unilever, one of the worlds leading Fast Moving Consumer Goods (FMCG) Companies and owner of global brands such as Dove, Vaseline and Lipton, signed today a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the American University in Dubai (AUD) to provide its students a comprehensive educational and hands-on practical program in the corporate world. The partnership will be effective for three years, starting this academic year. The MoU was signed by Abraham Togatorop, HR Director, Unilever Gulf and KSA and Peggy M. Awad, Director of External Relations at AUD.

The program aims at continuously promoting academic fineness and disclosure of industry knowledge amongst students through sharing global best practices and their local implementation.
“At Unilever, our objective is to become the employer of choice for students across the region.
Accordingly, we are delighted to sign this agreement today as it will help go a long way in strengthening our relationship with AUD; one of the most elite universities in the Gulf and a great strategic partner,” said Togatorop. “By providing students with the right educational and professional programs, we aspire to bridge the gap between the academic and the real world, with the aim of eventually inspiring students to become great business leaders of the future.”

This collaborative agreement between both parties will cover recruitment, internships, exchange of knowledge, training programs, joint seminars and conferences and leadership programs as well as other areas of mutual interests.

Mrs. Peggy Awad commented: "The External Relations Office at AUD, consistent with the university’s mission, capitalizes on building and sustaining enduring partnerships with the corporate world that will benefit the University Community, particularly the students. We are proud today to add Unilever as one of our new partners. Together, we successfully identified ways to nurture the students’ experience while providing them with opportunities that will ultimately add a professional dimension to their education".

AUD and Unilever have a long standing relationship and have collaborated on several occasions in the past. The latest being a talk by Tina Chikhani, Marketing Director, Unilever MENA, to AUD’s marketing students during which Chikhani presented the case study of “Axe Body Spray” as a successful example of international marketing best practices.