Qasid students and staff on a field trip to Wadi Rum nature reserve in Jordan as part of the institute’s cultural immersion education.
q a s i d i n s t i t u t e
This industry leading, U.S. owned, private language learning center in Amman, Jordan, hosts 1000 students per year from around the world for academically rigorous, culturally immersive, study abroad programs. Students range from undergrads to the doctorate level and professionals, coming as individuals and from a diversity of partners, such as Oxford University, UC Berkeley, the Fulbright Commission, and the U.S. State Department.
Founded in 2001 with a strong business concept as a top tier destination for Arabic studies abroad, Qasid got off on the right foot academically and readily gained an outstanding reputation to become a multimillion dollar venture with a seasonal range of 70 to 100 employees.
But a decade later, what about the other foot—of operational optimization—increasingly essential to stay ahead while scaling and facing disruptive technology advances in the online learning landscape?
That’s when I was invited to apply a human centered, design thinking approach to guide the company’s growth, to advance its existing business model, and to facilitate new directives.
Instead of products . . . I was now designing an institute.
s e r v i c e s t r a t e g y | p r o d u c t m a n a g e m e n t
As Director of Institute Development, I would identify, lead, and participate in initiatives to enrich the student and staff experience, refine both classroom and online instructional design, provide comprehensive accommodation services, handle facility upgrades, and increase the institute’s overall efficiency, capabilities, profitability, and brand perception.
These activities began with a business process redesign (BPR) effort to understand the current state of its operations. The role then involved product management and service design expertise, identifying new opportunities, directing teams, implementing online technologies, supporting accounting processes, and coordinating with partner organizations on three continents.
Multi cultural awareness, inclusiveness, and empathy were applied to successfully leverage and infuse regional resources and staff sensibilities with Western administrative structures and student expectations to continually improve the institute's levels of service.
How gratifying too, that these efforts have benefitted more than merely the immediate bottom line—such as Qasid’s online learning program that rapidly grew to garner over $100,000 in annual revenues.
Such contributions also matured to provide the institute the scalability, stability, and agility to effectively pivot into an entirely virtual, distance learning format to seamlessly deliver their elite quality of core instruction amid the global, COVID 19 pandemic challenges.
It was an existential business shift, as the remote program provided 100% of the organization’s revenues for two years until it could restart its on campus operations.
Graphic design revisions and content additions to Qasid’s printed brochure were among the communication assets that I addressed to elevate the institute’s brand position.
Auditing and redefining a legacy admissions process into a modern and more automated, online system.
Catalyzing the implementation of a revenue generating, distance learning R & D effort with a foreign, platform partner.
Heading the development and launch of Qasid’s online instruction program for existential profitability.
Envisioning and managing opportune, study abroad accommodation hospitality services, aided by internet apps.
Sharing information internally and externally through carefully crafted, visual and written documentation and presentations.