Iraq

Academics and Institutions Threatened

Once considered one of the best in the region, Iraq’s system of higher education is being “systematically liquidated”, according to the human rights organization Brussels Tribunal. Conservative estimates by the group suggest that following the U.S.-led invasion of the country over 250 educators have been assassinated while hundreds more have disappeared. This attack on academics has led to a large-scale brain drain of the nation’s most educated citizens.

In April 2005 the United Nations University published a report (see May/June issue of WENR) stating that 84 percent of Iraq’s institutions of higher education have been damaged, looted, or destroyed following the 2003 invasion. The report also mentioned highly under-qualified and isolated teaching staff, poorly equipped facilities, and rapidly increasing student populations as threats to the future of education in the country.

— IRINnews.org
Jan. 15, 2006

Lebanon

University Name Change

The council of Higher Education has granted a name change to Bekaa University. The institution is now known as the Lebanese International University. The University has six faculties including business administration, engineering, education, pharmacy, arts and sciences, and agriculture. The university is recognized by the Ministry of Education.

— Ministry of Education
Dec. 14, 2005

United Arab Emirates

Joint US/UAE Certificate Program Introduced

Zayed University (ZU) and Yale University of the United States have signed a cooperation agreement to jointly administer ZU’s Executive Management Certificate Program. The program consists of six seminars in modern management, three at Zayed and three at Yale’s campus in the United States. Upon completion, participants receive an Executive Management Certificate from ZU and a certificate of participation from the Yale School of Management.

— Khaleej Times
Dec. 30, 2005

George Mason UAE to Launch in First Phase of New Multi-Campus Initiative

The Investment and Development arm of the government of Ras al Khaimah (RAK), the UAE’s northernmost emirate, announced in January the launch of EDRAK, an educational initiative aimed at establishing RAK as a hub for world-class educational opportunities.

EDRAK will be a joint stock company working to attract domestic and international institutions of education to the Ras Al Khaimah Free Trade Zone. The local government is a founding partner in the project and is providing much of the start-up funds. Under the first phase of the project, Virginia-based George Mason University is establishing its first international campus alongside Khaimah Medical and Health Sciences University, Al Hamra (secondary-level) Academy, and Future University, which will offer programs in various fields from international institutions of higher education.

George Mason University RAK is scheduled to begin classes for an estimated 200 students in the fall semester. Four-year undergraduate programs will initially be offered at the College of Nursing and Health Science, the School of Information Technology and Engineering, the School of Management and the English Language Institute. In September 2005, Mason-RAK began offering a one-year foundation course in English language and plans to add graduate programs to its range of offerings in due course.

— Gulf News
Jan. 23, 2006

Qatar

British University to Open Campus

The University of Leeds announced recently that it will open a campus in the Mamoura district of Doha in 2007. Acclaimed worldwide for its quality of teaching and research, the university will offer courses in business management and accounting. Five American universities already operate campuses in Qatar at Education city, a multi-campus initiative aimed at brining some of the world’s best universities to the nation. The University of Leeds will be the first British institution to open a campus in the country.

— Gulf News
Jan. 12, 2006

A Sixth International Campus Inaugurated

Operating in Qatar from a temporary campus since 2002, the College of the North Atlantic-Qatar (CAN-Q) inaugurated in December its own dedicated campus, the sixth internationally run campus operating in the country. CNQ-A joins five U.S. universities also operating facilities in the small, but oil-rich, Persian Gulf state. Virginia Commonwealth School of the Arts, Weill Cornell Medical College, Texas A & M University, Carnegie Mellon University and Georgetown University all have campuses located in Education CityR, a purpose-built, multi-campus hub designed to attract students from the region to international world-class institutions of higher education.

The Doha-based comprehensive technical college currently enrolls approximately 1,200 students from 31 countries in diploma and certificate programs in a range of disciplines including health sciences, information technology, engineering technology and business studies. In addition to its new Qatar branch campus, the College of the North Atlantic, Newfoundland operates 17 campuses throughout Newfoundland and Labrador.

— CAN-Q news release
December 2005