Egypt
Scottish Degrees Gain Popularity in Cairo
Edinburgh-based Interactive University [1] (IU) and the Future University of Cairo have collaborated to offer Egyptian students Scottish degrees in their home country. This year, 500 students will take classes offered through IU by the Scottish institutions Heriot-Watt University [2], Queen Margaret University College [3], and Napier University [4] in courses ranging from business to engineering. The academic courses offered will be identical in content to those offered in Scotland. The new Future University of Cairo hopes to develop new degree programs and recruit 10,000 students by 2010.
Students studying in the program will complete the bulk of their degree in Egypt, but will have the option to travel to host institutions in Scotland for sections of their studies. The Scottish institutions involved in the program are capitalizing on a large market for foreign degrees in a country where many eligible students cannot afford the costs of traveling abroad for higher study. Scottish higher education officials are also excited about the prospects of enhancing their international image through the program. Interactive University was created in 2002 as a joint initiative between Heriot-Watt University and Scottish Enterprise [5].
— The Scotsman [6]
Aug. 25, 2006
Iran
President Condemns Liberal and Secular Professors
Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad has called for the ouster of both liberal and secular teachers from the ranks of the country’s university professors. During a meeting with a student group Ahmadinejad proclaimed, “Today, students should shout at the president and ask why liberal and secular university lecturers are present in the universities.” Last November the president appointed a cleric to oversee the nation’s oldest institution of higher education, Tehran University [7], and earlier this year dozens of liberal university professors were retired.
— The Canadian Press [8]
Sep. 5, 2006
Iraq
Universities and Schools on Brink of Collapse, Faculty and Students Flee
The Guardian newspaper reports that across large areas of Iraq the school and university system is in danger of collapse as students and teachers take flight in the face of threats of violence.
At some schools and colleges, up to half the staff have left Iraq, resigned or taken indefinite leaves of absence. Class sizes have also dropped by up to half in the areas that are worst affected. At the university level, professors teaching in the sciences and in health have been a favorite target of assassins, and many universities have been infiltrated by militia organizations.
With the mass exodus of professors, graduate students have been asked to take up teaching duties. Especially hard hit have been universities in Baghdad, Mosul, Kirkuk and Basra and professors complain of a system now approaching utter disarray.
— The Guardian [9]
Oct. 5, 2006
Jordan
USC to Establish Film School in Jordan
The Royal Film Commission of Jordan [10] and the University of Southern California (USC) School of Cinematic Arts [11] have struck an agreement to create the Red Sea Institute of Cinematic Arts (RSICA) in the coastal town of Aqaba. The union is part of Jordanian King Abdullah’s effort to develop the filmmaking skills of the country’s youth and to create a hub for Middle Eastern creative intellectuals in Jordan. When the inaugural class is admitted in 2008, RSICA will offer a three-year master’s of fine arts degree that explores advanced cinema, television and all other screen-based media education.
— USC Public Relations [12]
Sep. 20, 2006
Morocco
Disgruntled University Graduates Demand Government Employment
Desperate to find work, Moroccan university graduates are threatening the government with direct action if they are not offered jobs in the public sector. Degree holders without jobs have organized daily sit-ins in front of the parliament building in the capital of Rabat and have claimed that due to their “collective suffering” they will resort to “martyrdom” if they are not offered state employment. Graduate unemployment in Morocco currently stands at 27 percent, a number more than double the 12 percent national rate of unemployment. In 1991, the government offered tax breaks to the private sector if they hired university graduates but the plan yielded limited results. In 2005, six unemployed graduates attempted to burn themselves alive in protest.
— Education World Online [13]
Aug. 2006
Saudi Arabia
Saudis Work Together with British to Improve English Language Instruction
Saudi Arabia’s General Organization of Technical Education and Vocational Training [14] (GOTEVOT) and the UK’s British Council [15] are teaming up to enrich the quality of the English-language curriculum in Saudi Arabia. The project will develop English-language instruction at Saudi Arabia’s growing network of technical schools of which there are approximately 30. By 2010, Saudi officials estimate that the country’s technical schools will be educating 75,000 students, a future workforce that the government wants trained in English. The two-year project, managed under the auspices of the British Embassy and Foreign and Commonwealth Office, will focus on providing language training that serves the modern workplace.
— Arab News [16]
Aug. 14, 2006
Plans for First University in Northern Region Adds to University Boom
Saudi ruler King Abdullah will lay the foundation stone for the first university in the northern region of his kingdom later in October, Arab News reports. After the recent inaugurations of two new universities in Qasim and Hail (see issue August issue [17] of WENR), Tabuk University will be the third new university established in Saudi Arabia since Abdullah took over as the ruler of the Gulf state in August 2005.
Work is scheduled to begin soon on four colleges — college of medicine, college of science, community college and college of applied sciences and a total of 16 colleges are planned for the co-educational institution. Plans for a fourth new university in Baha have also been announced. When the two new institutions are completed the number of public universities in the kingdom will total 17. Other universities are located in Riyadh (three), Madinah (two), Jeddah, Makkah, Dammam, Dhahran, Abha, Qasim, Taif, Jizan, Al-Jouf and Hail.
— Arab News [16]
Oct. 3, 2006
Syria
Europe Contributes to Higher Education in Syria
Syrian Minister of Higher Education Giath Barakat and European Commission [18] representative Frank Hesske signed an agreement last month to cooperate in the development of Syria’s higher education sector. The agreement singed by the two diplomats states that the EU Commission will provide US$12.7million over the next four years to support progress in the Syrian higher education establishment. Under the agreement the EU will also provide the Middle Eastern nation with a “Project Management Unit”, a group of experts in different educational fields who will consult local officials. Syria plans to contribute material assistance to the cooperative project as well as local experts to work together with their European counterparts for the betterment of the education system. The main goals of this joint project are to develop quality standards in Syrian institutions, improving administration, altering education policy and increasing human resources.
— SANA [19]
Sep. 20, 2006
United Arab Emirates
Canadian University Opens Branch in Dubai
Canada’s Centennial College [20] opened a branch campus in Dubai at the beginning of the current academic year. Funded by Emirates Investment and Development in partnership with Bin Hendi Enterprises, the Dubai campus will utilize curriculum, teaching methods and support services from Centennial’s campus in Canada. Canadian faculty members will teach students remotely in programs tailored to meet local needs in academic and vocational training. Students earning credits in the UAE will be able to transfer them to institutions of higher education in Canada, the U.S. and Australia. The university will operate an English language school as well as course offerings in education, health and environmental studies, engineering technology, applied sciences, business. Credentials available at the institution will range from one-year certificates to four-year degrees.
— Khaleej Times [21]
Aug. 2006
Prestigious French University Begins Classes
Paris-based Sorbonne University [22] began offering classes in October at its new branch campus [23] in Abu Dhabi. Currently operating from temporary premises for the 2006/07 academic year, a new purpose-built campus is slated to open in the UAE capital by the beginning of the 2007/08 academic year.
— Gulf News [24]
Oct. 3, 2006
New Medical University Opens
The RAK Medical and Health Sciences University [25] welcomed its first class of students in October with the inauguration of the university’s bachelor of medicine/bachelor of surgery program.
— Gulf News [24]
Oct. 1, 2006
Yemen
Yemen and Jordan to Open Joint University
Yemen and Jordan signed a memorandum of understanding last month under which they will create a joint Yemeni-Jordanian operated university in Aden. According to Jordanian Secretary General of the Ministry of Higher Education, Mohammad Abu Qdeis, the university will open early next year with two courses of study: computer programming and business administration. Qdeis discussed the new university after a meeting with Yemeni Minister of Higher Education Saleh Basorah where they discussed bilateral ties between their two nations in the field of higher education. The university will increase the number of its courses in the future.
— Jordan Times [26]
Aug. 10, 2006