United Arab Emirates | QS Intelligence Unit

Category: United Arab Emirates

by Abby Chau

A gay-friendly university ratings and Abu Dhabi’s ambitious goals for 2018 – here are this week’s news stories:

At the Saudi Arabia and Japan: A Dialogue for the Future Seminar held recently in Tokyo, the two nations heralded the need for further educational collaboration. According to the Saudi Ambassador to Japan Abdul Aziz Tukistani, Japan is the second largest trading partner of Saudi. Full Story: Arab News
As a new fiscal year begins in the states, public colleges are experiencing a tough time as federal stimulus money dries up. Hawaii slashed their educational budget by 26%, and Florida has laid off 21 tenured and 34 tenure-track professors after $82 million was cut from their budget.
Full Story: USA Today
Executive Director of Strategic Affairs Rafic Makki delivered Abu Dhabi’s Higher Education Strategic Plan recently. Under the Economic Vision 2030, the country plans to move away from oil based revenue and develop a research and knowledge-based workforce. The government plans to invest 1 billion dollars to accomplish this Vision with the goal of having two Abu Dhabi universities ranking on a global Top 100 by 2018.
Full Story: University World News Continue Reading

by Abby Chau

From a French higher education revolution to a growing American uneasiness about their ranking, here are this week’s news stories:

The second Euro-Mediterranean Ministerial Conference on Higher Education was supposed to take place in April but due to the Icelandic ash cloud, it was postponed. Stakeholders of this conference, from Southern Mediterranean and Middle Eastern States, seek to establish dialogues and agreements based on the 2007 Cairo Declaration which, akin to the Bologna Process, aims to harmonise higher education and promote knowledge sharing within member states. This editorial argues against the wholesale acceptance of Bologna and cautions against the so-called neoliberalism of internationalisation and privatisation.
Full Story: Times of Malta
According to the Chronicle, France is allowing its 83 universities to become autonomous, cutting off traditional ties to the government. In a major overhaul, Sarkozy also plans on investing billions of euros into creating 10 regional “supercampuses” with the view to compete with American Ivy Leagues. The Chronicle posits that the poor performance of French universities in international league tables has had a hand in ushering in this new system.
Full Story: The Chronicle of Higher Education
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by Abby Chau

From the Iraq higher education system to a boost in the kiwi economy, here are this week’s news stories:

During the India-UAE: Leveraging the Knowledge Economy Paradigm forum in Abu Dhabi, both countries pledged more robust cooperation in education. Citing the economic climate and the possibility of a human resource crisis, both India and the UAE said distance learning programmes may be a good way forward.
Full Story: Gulf News
One of the many legacies the U.S will leave behind in Iraq appears to take the form of an uber expensive liberal arts university. The American University of Iraq, according to this article, has only attracted 375 students as high tuition costs and the impracticality of a liberal arts education are cited as barriers to attract enrolment.(See our 16.3.2010 post for more information regarding the Iraq Higher Education System)
Full Story: Guardian
More: Asharq Alawsat
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