Regional
Business Schools Laying the Foundations for New Market
Not long ago, one of the few places in the region teaching graduate-level business programs was Egypt’s American University of Cairo [1]. Times are changing, reports Business Week, and enthusiasm for Western-style management education – master’s in business administration (MBAs) and short executive courses — is starting to spread throughout the Arab world. In addition, schools in the United States and Europe are making strides to accommodate them.
In May, for instance, Barcelona’s IESE Business School [2] graduated its first class of 40 Executive Development Program (EDP) graduates in Cairo after four weeklong sessions. EDP was the first step in a multiyear plan to train professors in the region and, ultimately, to help establish a new business school in Egypt called Nile University of Technology (NileTech). NileTech had hoped to enroll its first class of MBA students in June.
France’s INSEAD [3] has plans to open a satellite center in Beirut, Lebanon, in the next six to 12 months to serve as a hub for its Middle East case-writing and conference work. London Business School [4] has run Worldclasses in Dubai, United Arab Emirates (UAE), since February 2001, and will host its third class in Jordan at a cost of about US$7,500 per person.
Ashridge [5], a business school based just outside London, has a 3-year-old office in Dubai to help sell its short courses to privatizing companies throughout the kingdom and region. The University of Virginia’s Darden School of Business [6] has taught new business concepts to 120 rising managers from Bahrain since 1999. A class of 21 students started in July.
What is driving the demand? Networking opportunities with professionals from more economically developed countries. Politics also plays a role in some countries whose policymakers want to increase the number of local citizens, rather than expatriates, in key positions. In the UAE, many financial institutions are following government guidelines that urge them to “emiratize” their staffs, creating huge demand for leadership lessons. Still, schools with regional experience say doing business in the Middle East can be taxing. Georgia State University’s Robinson College of Business [7], which ran an MBA program for working professionals with Cairo University [8] and graduated 55 MBAs, pulled out of the region in 2002, when it became too difficult to travel to and from Egypt and raise money in the wake of the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks. The school, however, still helps run marketing courses for Egyptian professionals in partnership with the Alexandria Institute of Technology.
For the Western business schools, profit margins are not, for the time being, the driving motivator – partly because tuition fees by the laws of supply and demand are much lower than in the West. More significantly, the opportunity to gain a stronghold in the region is motivating schools to establish themselves regionally to help boost their reputation and networking opportunities back home.
— Business Week [9]
June 28, 2004
Bahrain
Medical University Launched With Irish Help
The Medical University of Bahrain [10] officially opened in July at a ceremony attended by Prime Minister Shaikh Khalifa bin Salman Al Khalifa and officials from the Royal College of Surgeons in Ireland [11] (RCSI), who have been closely involved in the evolution of the new university.
As a constituent university of the RCSI, the new medical university initially is offering a six-year degree program in medicine, with plans to offer more specialized programs in the near future. A specialized teaching facility will be attached to King Hamad General Hospital, which is currently under construction. The college welcomed an initial enrollment of 60 students in August.
— Bahrain Tribune [12]
July 29, 2004
Kingdom University Opens for Business
With curriculum support from United Kingdom-based University of Westminster [13], classes at Bahrain’s new Kingdom University commenced in September at its temporary campus in Zinj.
The university is offering 11 bachelor’s degree programs, mainly in the fields of information technology, business and management. The university also will be offering master-level programs in January. A permanent campus is under construction in Hamad Town and is expected to be operational within three years.
— Gulf Daily News [14]
Sept. 6, 2004
Egypt
Religious Schools Get the Boot
The Egyptian government recently decided to convert more than 6,000 Islamic secondary schools run by Al-Azhar University [15] into secular public schools. As a result, the 12 or so religious subjects normally featured in a traditional Islamic curriculum will be pared back to one: the same religious education class taught at public schools.
Moreover, ongoing construction of more than 500 new Islamic schools will be halted. Al-Azhar said it was not notified of the decision, and government opposition leaders say the Mubarak regime, under pressure from the United States, is deliberately targeting Al-Azhar. Relations between Al-Azhar and the United States have been tense ever since the Grand Imam Sheikh Mohamed Sayed Tantawi declared a jihad against Americans after the invasion of Iraq. He later retracted the statement, over which the Bush administration had voiced concern. A U.S. congressman also has requested that Al-Azhar be added to the watch list of terror organizations.
— Al-Ahram Weekly [16]
August 2004
Iran
Diploma-Mill Closure Reflects Greater Problems
The Ministry of Science, Research and Technology has ordered the closure of the American University in Hawaii, an outfit that describes itself as a “multimedia global university” with offices in Tehran and many other cities around the world. Radio Farda reported Sept. 20 that students, including officials from the Tehran Province Justice Department and several ministries, did not have to attend classes, and that the institution reportedly issued 8,000 degrees in exchange for payments that ranged from US$6,300 to $26,000. Tehran Province Justice Department spokesman Abbasali Alizadeh said Sept. 14 that the government does not recognize degrees from the institution.
The situation with the Hawaiian-based virtual institution reflects several problems that have not been resolved, reports RFE/RL. First, it provides hope that a university education will make it easier to get a job in a country with double-digit unemployment. Second, it reflects the tremendous demand for a limited number of university places —
young Iranians surveyed recently described their greatest problem after employment as the university entrance exam, the Iranian Labor News Agency (ILNA) reported in May. Third, it reflects a corrupt system in which state officials use fake academic credentials to receive higher salaries.
Although the institution in question is headquartered in the United States, it does not have regional accreditation or the right to advertise itself as a degree-granting institution. The state of Hawaii, by way of its Office of Consumer Protection [17], has filed suit against American University Hawaii Inc. for alleged violation of various provisions of Hawaii’s Unaccredited Degree Granting Institutions Law. The case is scheduled for trial in November.
— RFE/RL [18]
Sept. 22, 2004
Iraq
International Partnership Results in New Degree Program
Although most of the hoped-for and promised international academic partnerships in Iraq have not materialized because of spiraling security concerns, a few projects are moving ahead, reports the Chronicle of Higher Education. The Chronicle highlighted one program in particular: a degree program in crimes, evidence and technology created by San Diego State University [19] professor Joseph Ghoughassian and Mahamood Abdul Husain, president of the Commission of Technical Education in Iraq.
The two-year program will train Iraqi law-enforcement officers in human rights, criminal procedure and evidence gathering. Mr. Ghoughassian designed the curriculum and is seeking US$45 million from the U.S. government to build a forensic laboratory. The government has not yet responded to his request. The program will enroll 50 students this month at the Technical Education Institute in Baghdad, from where it may expand to the institute’s Basra and Mosul campuses.
— The Chronicle of Higher Education [20]
Aug. 13, 2004
Israel
College Merger Plans Making Slow Progress
Since 1994 there has been a steady rise in the number of tertiary-level colleges in Israel, and a growing percentage of students are applying to study at them rather than at universities. In 2001-02, according to the State Comptroller’s Report, 100,000 students, representing 46.2 percent of all postsecondary students, were enrolled at colleges. Of 54 institutions recognized by the Council for Higher Education (CHE), 46 are colleges.
In 1999, CHE initiated a plan to reduce the number of colleges in 2005-06 through consolidations and mergers. Haaretz newspaper reports that very little progress has been recorded, however, with only one proposal for the merger of five colleges in Galilee having been submitted to CHE. However, even this proposal fails to propose desired consolidation measures by calling for the preservation of the positions of the five college presidents, directors-general and managing committee chairs.
— Haaretz [21]
5-Day School Week Approved
The Knesset Education Committee approved amendments to existing laws in August that will enable the implementation of a five-day school week this school year.
The five-day week, which would make Friday a nonschool day, is one of the changes recommended by the Dovrat Committee on educational reform (see May/June 2004 WENR [22]). The elimination of Friday classes is meant to enable a longer school day on the other five days. However, the Education Ministry is also asking the committee to postpone implementation of the longer school day until 2010, which means that the lost Friday hours would not be made up during the rest of the week.
— Haaretz [23]
June 30, 2004
Saudi Arabia
Ministry OKs Private Medical College
Ibn Sina Medical College, the first private medical school in Jeddah, commenced classes this year following approval from the Ministry of Higher Education. The college is affiliated with King Saud University [24] in Riyadh. It enrolled the first 100 students into its medicine and pharmacology departments this semester.
— Arab News [25]
Aug. 16, 2004
Education Reforms Create New Administrative Body
In an effort to boost standards of education, Saudi Arabia recently decided to set up a committee to oversee higher education and a national center to review the education system. The Higher Education Commission for Education Policies and the Higher Education Council have been merged into a single body, the Supreme Education Council.
— Arab News [25]
Aug. 20, 2004
Duke to Collaborate With Girls College
Effat College [26], a women’s college in Jeddah, and the Pratt School of Engineering [27] at Duke University have signed a memorandum of understanding to establish together a new engineering curriculum for the college. The initial purpose of the agreement is to carry out collaborative activities between Effat College and the Pratt School in order to further the common interests of both institutions. The first phase of the program was set to begin this fall.
The initial focus of the first phase will be in the field of computer engineering as Effat already offers degrees in computer science and information technology. Pending approval by the Ministry of Higher Education [28], additional degree programs are being considered in architectural design, biomedical engineering and electrical engineering.
— Arab News [25]
Sept. 15, 2004
The United Arab Emirates
Ministry Publishes List of Recognized Institutions
The Ministry of Higher Education and Scientific Research [29] has published a list [30] of recognized institutions and accredited programs. New institutions on the list include the Gulf Medical College and the British University in Dubai (See July/August 2004 WENR [31]). There is also a waiting status given to those institutions not yet accredited, of which there are estimated to be more than 20.
— AMEinfo [32]
June 24, 2004
Birmingham School Inks Deal With BUiD
The University of Birmingham [33] recently signed an agreement with British University in Dubai [34] (BUiD) (See May/June 2004 WENR [22]) to offer three master’s programs in education through BUiD’s campus at Knowledge Village [35].
BUiD is one of eight overseas institutions with a campus at the Dubai-based, multi-institution higher-education zone known as Knowledge Village. BUiD is billed as the first research-based graduate university in the region. Three universities – Birmingham, University of Manchester Institute of Science and Technology [36] and Edinburgh [37] – currently operate three specialized institutes at BUiD offering master and doctoral programs in the fields of education, engineering and informatics. The university began its first semester of teaching in September.
BUiD has achieved official candidacy from the Ministry of Higher Education in the UAE [29] and has submitted all of its programs for accreditation.
— Khaleej Times [38]
Aug. 20, 2004
Harvard to Oversee “Healthcare City”
Harvard Medical School [39] broke ground in May on a branch campus that will be instrumental in the development of a medical campus in Dubai, which will be known as Healthcare City [40]. The Harvard Medical School Dubai Center is the school’s biggest international project ever. Harvard will train medical staff, direct research and provide quality control for the entire project.
Harvard joins a number of other U.S. institutions that recently have been contracted to provide medical expertise, services and training to the region. Joslin Diabetes Center [41] of Boston just opened a treatment center in Bahrain, while Cornell University [42] recently launched a medical school in Doha (see November/December 2002 WENR [43]). In addition, the Cleveland Clinic [44] will help run a hospital under construction in Saudi Arabia.
Dubai Center is by far the biggest venture for Harvard Medical International [45] (HMI), the 10-year-old nonprofit subsidiary set up by the medical school to advise health-care providers abroad. Through HMI, Harvard has worked in 40 countries, but the Dubai project is the first overseas bricks-and-mortar branch of the medical school since a Shanghai campus closed in 1915.
— The Boston Globe [46]
May 31, 2004
Branch Campus Opens Despite President Being Left in the Dark
The University of Southern Queensland [47] (USQ) has continued with plans to open a branch campus at Knowledge Village [35] — a higher-education precinct — which had been developed without the USQ vice chancellor’s knowledge. An investigation to discover how three senior management figures could launch an overseas operation without the knowledge of the university head and its governing council is currently ongoing. The three administrators have been placed on leave and had their computers impounded for the purposes of the investigation.
USQ in Dubai, as the new branch is known, opened Sept. 25 with Vice Chancellor and President Professor Bill Lovegrove stating that he is “excited by the lifelong-learning opportunities that we will be able to offer the people of the gulf region via the university’s internationally recognized, flexibly delivered degree and diploma programs.” The university said it already has processed more than 300 applications from Arab undergraduates. That figure is expected to rise to 1,300 over the coming academic year.
Mr. Lovegrove’s announcement ended two weeks of speculation about the campus’ status. In an interview, he said he learned of the venture after opening an application letter sent by an academic. He added that the affair has been “quite an issue internally.” The announcement came at a time when the Australian higher-education sector is intensifying its efforts to attract Arab students, especially those shut out of the United States because of new visa restrictions.
— The Australian [48]
Sept. 8, 2004