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Dana Serikbay

Global Student Recruitment Leader | $20M+ Revenue | EMEA, South Asia & Central Asia Markets | University Partnerships & Enrolment Growth
14.2 yrs experienceEducation Management
Mar 2026

The move

MoveShorelight → Navitas
TitleSenior Product Sales & Marketing Manager - Global → Head of Student Recruitment North America - Middle East, Europe, Pakistan and RCIS
LocationDubai → Dubai
Cross-border moveNo — same country
Native languageEnglish, Kazakh, Kazakh, Russian, Russian, Turkish, Turkish
Years in UAE8.5
Total experience14.2 years

Career arc

  1. Head of Student Recruitment North America - Middle East, Europe, Pakistan and RCISMar 2026 — Present
    Navitas· Dubai, United Arab Emirates· Full-time
  2. Senior Product Sales & Marketing Manager - GlobalDec 2021 — Present
    Shorelight· Dubai, United Arab Emirates· Full-time
  3. International Student Recruitment & Admissions ManagerDec 2019 — Dec 2021
    Rochester Institute of Technology· Dubai· Full-time
  4. Head of Sales & Admissions - Central Asia & Southeast AsiaDec 2017 — Oct 2019
    EF Academy· Dubai· Full-time
  5. Sales & Marketing ManagerDec 2016 — Nov 2017
    LOT Polish Airlines· Astana, Kazakhstan· Full-time
  6. Branch Director/ Country Operations LeadNov 2016 — Nov 2017
    AVIAREPS Kazakhstan· Astana, Kazakhstan· Full-time
  7. Marketing ManagerJan 2015 — Dec 2016
    Etihad Airways· Astana· Full-time
  8. Personal Assistant to Managing Director & Administrative LeadAug 2010 — Sep 2013
    Amun Capital Advisers· Full-time

Education

Languages

  • English · Full professional
  • English · Native or bilingual
  • Kazakh · Native or bilingual
  • Kazakh · Native or bilingual
  • Russian · Native or bilingual
  • Russian · Native or bilingual
  • Turkish · Native or bilingual
  • Turkish · Native or bilingual

Top skills

PresentationsStrategic PlanningAgent Network ManagementResearchStrategic PartnershipsPipeline Management

About

I scale international student recruitment. Over the past 10+ years, I have built and grown enrolment pipelines across EMEA, South Asia, Central Asia, Southeast Asia, and China - working with university partners, agent networks, and cross-functional teams to turn ambitious targets into results. My strongest example: I took ownership of a US university portfolio that had fewer than 70 international students. Through disciplined daily pipeline management, strategic agent repositioning, and intensive partner training, I grew that number to 300+ enrolled students in under 12 months - the university's highest-ever international intake. Across my career, I have delivered $20M+ revenue from South Asia in a single year (200% of target), enrolled 1,800+ students annually across 7 university partn

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