Syria: EU to Provide Hundreds of Scholarships for Syrian Students

An EU-financed program, Higher and Further Education Opportunities and Perspectives for Syrians (HOPES), has been established to assist Syrian students in Turkey, Lebanon, Jordan, Iraq, and Egypt. HOPES will fund 400 students’ education, and provide educational counseling for 42,000 more. The program also aims to offer a certificated Leadership and Management Development Program, in an effort to provide the skills necessary for the future rehabilitation and reconstruction of Syria. The EU has provided the program with US$13.7 million for the next three years.

University World News
April 29, 2016

Region: New Science and Engineering Scholarship Program

In an effort to advance science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) education in the Arab world, Emirati billionaire Abdulla al Ghurair has provided $USD 1.4 billion to a foundation that will offer scholarships to 15,000 disadvantaged Arab students in science and engineering programs. Recipients will receive full funding to attend elite universities, including the American University of Cairo, American University of Beirut, American University of Sharjah, and Khalifa University in Abu Dhabi.

Al-Fanar Media
April 26, 2016

United Arab Emirates: Teacher Shortage

The United Arab Emirates has 548 English-medium schools, the highest number in the world, and enrollment numbers are steadily rising. However, a predicted shortage of U.K. teachers could threaten this growth, says a new report. A mismatch in skills needed in the UAE market, coupled with a mismatch in salaries desired by U.K. teachers, adds to the standard challenge of recruiting and maintaining a high-quality international teaching staff.

The PIE News
April 14, 2016

Region: Social Sciences Marginalized

Less than half of Arab universities offer social science courses, says a report recently made available online. The report’s author, Mohammed Bamyeh, a sociology professor at the University of Pittsburgh, highlights the necessity of such coursework during a time of radical change in the region. Bamyeh argues that lack of social science courses can be attributed to “institutional fragmentation, the lack of encouragement for research activities, the political restrictions on it, the weakness of the Arab academic intellectual community, and the bureaucratic inflexibility of Arab universities.”

Al-Fanar Media
April 9, 2016