Teaching in Kuwait

Box Hill Institute partner, Box Hill College Kuwait, is an ultra-modern educational institution and the sole private higher education exclusive to women in the State of Kuwait. The college offers students pathways to employment as well as undergraduate degree programs through transfer and articulation agreements with Kuwait and international universities.

Mary Monica McNally is a senior lecturer in Box Hill College Kuwait’s Business Studies Departments where she teaches Marketing and Banking Services Diplomas. She finds the work extremely enjoyable and values the versatility and creativity involved, especially as students change every semester. She said, “It’s a very stimulating experience without the grind sometimes associated with the corporate world or even the self-employment sector, of which I have experienced both.”

Having spent the past 11 years at Box Hill College Kuwait, Mary has been able to grow professionally and pass on her expertise to her students. The vast majority of students who attend the college are young Kuwaiti women who enrol straight after graduating from high school, or who return to the college to earn a second diploma, or mature aged students who couldn’t study immediately after completing high school.

Before transitioning to teaching, Mary earned a Master of Business Administration at Pepperdine University in Los Angeles and worked as the Director of Marketing for the Whittier Hospital Medical Centre in California followed by the Director of Membership for the Greater New York Chamber of Commerce. She has also worked as Chief of Staff for the Head of the Institutional Equity Sales Trading floor of Deutsche Bank and Vice President for Brown Advisory, an investment advisory firm and spin-off of Deutsche Bank.

With an extensive business experience under her belt, Mary wanted to be able to share her knowledge with students to help them develop into professionals. She said, “It was the desire to want to help others and primarily women. My first teaching assignment was in Los Angeles and I discovered how much I really enjoyed it.”  

Within her first semester of teaching, Mary had won an Excellence in Education Award. 

There are a number ways Box Hill College Kuwait makes sure students are well equipped for the workforce, such as giving them assessments, facilitating internships and industry connections, helping with CV development.

According to Mary, the Box Hill College Kuwait campus is very beautiful and has an airy, spacious but cosy feeling. She said, “As the campus is only about 13 years old or so, it was designed with the use of internet, overhead projectors and access to electricity, technology and so forth in mind. Our IT department is responsive to our needs as well”.