Edubeanz

Dubai: The choice comes as no surprise as California is renowned for the quality of its higher education system. Carian College Advisors, a specialist American education consultancy headquartered in Dubai, has named California as the No. 1 choice of students from the UAE pursuing higher education in the United States, based on the list of clients they served in 2013. Peter Davos, Managing Director, says that the choice comes as no surprise to him as California is renowned for the quality of its higher education system, its attractive climate and excellent quality of life. “California is by far our students’ most popular destination; it is home to some of the world’s top universities, such as Stanford University, Harvey Mudd College, California Institute of Technology, UCLA, UC Berkeley, Pomona College and Claremont McKenna College.

“Stanford University has surpassed Harvard University this year as the most difficult university in t…

Kuwait city: Assistant Undersecretary of scholarships and cultural relations affairs at the Ministry of Higher Education Maysara Jassim Al-Falah expressed on Thursday Kuwait's eagerness to boost bilateral cooperation with Malaysia in the educational field, especially in student scholarship exchanges and academic accreditation.

A Kuwaiti joint delegation consisted of Ministry of Higher Education and Ministry of Health paid a visit to Penang Medical College (PMC) in Penang, where they viewed training measures mechanisms at the college, as well as the facilitations and services offered by PMC.
Al-Falah told Kuwait News Agency (KUNA) that the Kuwaiti delegation held several meetings with the college's officials.

She added that the delegation had also visited the college's affiliated hospital and medical center, in which they viewed all departments and health facilities, noting that they met with many students in their training sessions at the college's hospital, and became…

Qatar: Six months after moving to Qatar to open UCL's campus in the Middle East, Brett Kershaw talks about building UCL's reputation through outreach projects. I'm now been living in Doha for almost six months. UCL’s Qatar Campus is growing steadily in terms of our staff numbers (17 at last count) and most importantly, we're now beginning to gain wider recognition as an active entity here. There are now just under five months until we enrol our first students, with the admissions process still in full swing. It's somewhat daunting knowing how much work still lies ahead, but very satisfying at the same time to look back on what we've achieved.

So what's been happening? Profile-raising has been high on the agenda over the last couple of months, and it has come in many forms, from participation in exhibitions, to media advertisements, to our social media profiles. Visibility is the key for us now. Even being one of the world's highest ranking institutions …

Qatar: Unusually for a Muslim country, Qatar has opened its door to Western-style institutions. In broadcasting, this has meant Al Jazeera. In higher education, it has meant the creation of Education City, which houses Hamad bin Khalifa University, or HBKU, a new all-graduate institution.

Five years ago journalists from around the world were flown to Qatar for the graduation ceremony of the first group of young people to qualify from Education City.

It was a glittering affair and enabled this oil and gas rich state to show off its ambitious experiment – to create an education hub by inviting in the best American universities to run undergraduate courses in Qatar.

The event garnered headlines and interest around the world. The aim was to create an elite educational facility along Ivy League lines and make Qatar the education centre for the Middle East, if not for the Asian sub-continent. This is still the aim, says Prior.

What has happened in the past five years?

The creation of Hamad…

Muscat: To increase the quality of educational materials and access to education, over 45 officials and teachers from the Oman Ministry of Education exchanged views and developed a draft Oman National Policy on Open Educational Resources in a meeting held from 19 – 21 November 2013.

Defined as any type of educational materials in the public domain, or released with an open license allowing free use and distribution, Open Educational Resources (OERs) present Ministries of Education with a strategic opportunity to increase the quality of educational materials and using ICT to increase access to education especially for disadvantaged groups.

The intensive 2-day Workshop and 1-day meeting with the Ministry of Education was facilitated by the Oman National OER Support Committee and 2 experts from UNESCO: Mr Fengchun Miao and Mr Abel Caine. The Workshop resulted in the development of the comprehensive draft National OER Policy focussing on key-entry points including textbook production, tea…

Muscat:Majlis A'Shura's Committee on Education and Scientific Research today held its fifth regular meeting of the third annual session (2013/2014) of the seventh term of the Majlis A'Shura, headed by Mohammad bin Rashid al-Qanobi, Head of the Committee.

The Committee hosted Dr. Abdullah bin Mohammad al-Sarmi, Undersecretary of the Ministry of Higher Education to discuss a number of topics dealing with Omani students studying abroad and see at first-hand the efforts and actions undertaken by the Ministry in this regard and to review letters received by the Committee from some Omani students studying in the Republic of Poland and the solutions and proposals taken by the Ministry. Al- Qanobi confirmed that a meeting with the Undersecretary of the Ministry of Higher Education came at the request of the parents of Omani students dispatched to the Republic of Poland and correspondence received by the Head and the members of the Committee by some of the students studying in the…

Muscat: UK Trade & Investment and the Training Gateway are bringing a delegation of UK-based providers of education and corporate training, who are looking for a wide range of partnership opportunities in Oman. The delegation will visit Oman on 10-11 December 2013.

Amanda Selvaratnam of The Training Gateway said “Having brought a delegation to Oman last year and seen what a wealth of opportunities for partnerships are available in Oman, I am delighted to be building on that visit by introducing another group of training providers to explore the exciting opportunities for partnership offered in this wonderful country. ”

The group comprises 25 universities, colleges and private training providers. They offer a diverse range of professional development programmes and HR solutions. This includes courses with industry recognised accreditation, vocational qualifications; programmes for primary, secondary and higher education teachers; specialist English language training; globalisati…

Qatar: His Excellency Dr. Mohammed Abdul Wahed Ali Al Hammadi, the Minister of Education and Higher Education and Secretary General of the Supreme Education Council, met on Friday 8 November 2013 with the Qatari students who are currently studying at France different universities, on the sidelines of his Excellency’s participation in the 37th session of the UNESCO General Conference.

His Excellency the minister held a dinner banquet in the honor of our students. During the meeting, the minister of education reviewed the most important administrative educational challenges faced by students during their studies and directed the competent authorities take all necessary measures to overcome these challenges. His Excellency the minister urged our students to exert more effort to succeed in their studies to participate in the progress of their homeland in all various fields.

At the end of the meeting, the students expressed their satisfaction about the meeting and thanked His Excellency th…

Qatar: Over 90 local and international colleges and universities are participating in the 4th Qatar International College Exhibition to be held at the International Exhibition Center from November 4.

The three-day event with the theme: -Towards diversity to stimulate creativity and innovation', is organised by the Higher Education Institute (HEI) of the Supreme Education Council (SEC).

Senior state officials, ambassadors and cultural attachés of foreign embassies to the State of Qatar, academics and SEC officials, schools officials and teachers, students and parents as well as the media and those interested in the educational matters are expected to take part in event which is being held under the patronage of Minister of Education and Higher Education and Secretary-General of the SEC HE Dr Mohammed Abdul Wahed al Hammadi. 

Speaking about the objectives of the fair, Director of HEI Dr Khaled al Hor said that the exhibition aims to bring together students, parents, and local and i…

Dubai: The role of business schools in preparing students capable of building a sustainable MENA region and preventing a future financial crisis was discussed during a conference held in Dubai on Sunday.

The Third Principals for Responsible Management Education (PRME) MENA Regional Conference discussed whether business schools can offer a road map to a sustainable MENA region and how this can be done.

The event was organised by the University of Dubai and the Dubai Chamber of Commerce and Industry and was held under the patronage of Abdul Rahman Saif Al Ghurair, chairman of Dubai Chamber of Commerce and Industry.

Speaking to Gulf News, Eisa Bastaki, President of the University of Dubai, said that the conference aims to discuss tools that can empower future businessmen.During the conference, Bastaki addressed the topic of “leadership and innovation” using the six principles of PRME, which are purpose, values, method, research, partnership and dialogue, to integrate sustainability…

Abu Dhabi: The UAE has made significant strides in improving proficiency in English among adults, but the level of teaching English in the country is still low internationally, according to new data released by a global language training company.

According to Education First (EF), educational institutions, companies and individuals are increasingly embracing English language learning, however, many countries are failing to measure the results of their efforts.

EF EPI is a report that attempts to rank countries by the average level of English skills among adults. It draws its conclusions from data collected via online English tests available for free over the internet.

The UAE has succeeded in developing knowledge economies before its oil production peaks and made vital progress in its ability in English. The UAE is now ranked number one regionally and 36th internationally in English proficiency among 60 countries, EF EPI confirmed.

According to the EF EPI results announced in …

Dubai: Whether it is finding ways to make cancer treatment less painful or starting a registry to fight inherited diseases, Arab women shone in the field of scientific research at the L’Oreal–Unesco Pan Arab Regional Fellowships for Women in Science 2013.


The programme which was launched in the region in 2010 by L’Oreal and Unesco aims to promote women in the field of scientific research. This year 10 Arab scientists and researchers from different countries in the region — including two from the UAE — were awarded €15,000 (Dh55,090) for their work in different fields.


Gulf News spoke to three of the winners to learn more about their research and future plans. Emirati Fatima Al Jasmi, Metabolic Consultant at Tawam Hospital and Assistant Professor at UAE University, was awarded for her metabolic disorder registry which records cases of Emiratis who suffer from this inherited disorder.

So far Fatima has recorded the cases of 189 Emiratis and she found that in the UAE, for every 100,000 E…

Riyadh: The selection procedure for the King Abdullah Scholarship Program (KASP), which provides the means to enroll in the best world universities to pursue higher studies, began in Riyadh on Thursday.

The Ministry of Higher Education (MoHE) has invited the male and female applicants for selection process. The procedure will continue in Riyadh until Nov. 19, whereas the selection process in Alkhobar will begin on Nov. 23, said the ministry, adding that the process was completed in Jeddah between Nov. 6 and Nov. 11. Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Abdullah has approved the extension of the scholarship program.

“A royal approval was issued by King Abdullah to extend King Abdullah Foreign Scholarship Program for a third phase that lasts five years, starting after end of the current phase by end of fiscal year 2014,” said the statement from the ministry. According to a statistics, there are nearly 100,000 Saudi students studying at premier Institutions across the world under KASP,…

Muscat: The Ministry of Higher Education (MOHE) in the Sultanate of Oman, under the leadership of the Minister of Higher Education, Her Excellency Dr Rawya Al Busaidi, invited QS to deliver an exclusive seminar on the World University Rankings and international branding opportunities for the universities in the sultanate.

The seminar was held at the Muscat Hall auditorium situated at the headquarters of the Ministry of Higher Education in Muscat on September 3. The QS representative for the Middle East, Mr Ashwin Fernandes, delivered the half-day seminar. Universities from all provinces of the sultanate, such as far off places like Salalah, Sohar, Nizwa etc attended the seminar and were keen to learn more about QS; a total of 70 representatives were present.
The undersecretary of Higher Education, His Excellency Dr Abdullah Al Sarmi, graced the seminar. 

Also present were representatives from the Sultan Qaboos University—the vice chancellor, His Excellency Dr Ali Al-Bemani, …

Riyadh: Saudi universities have enrolled more than 86 percent of secondary graduates for the 2013-2014 academic year.  About 330,700 students have been admitted to programs in 25 universities in the Kingdom, the Saudi Press Agency reported Thursday.
The Ministry of Higher Education has prepared a strategic plan for the expansion of university education over the next 25 years in its efforts to implement Custodian of Two Holy Mosques King Abdullah’s vision for higher education.

A major feature of the development strategy for higher education is the plan to launch university cities. The first phase of this developmental strategy has been launched at a total cost of SR81.5 billion and the foundation stone for the second phase has been laid. Campus areas designated for Saudi university cities cover an area of 112 million square meters. These cities also include 12 university hospitals. The new institutes for higher learning, which have been built in recent years, include the universities o…

Dubai: Education in Ireland, the organisation responsible for marketing the Irish higher education sector to international audiences, has reported a dramatic increase in the number of Saudi students opting for third level education in Ireland. The figure has risen from approximately two hundred students in 2009 to 1,738 students studying and preparing to study in Ireland this year, the majority of which are under the King Abdullah Scholarship Scheme.

Mr. Sulaiman Al Hamdan, CEO of National Air Services (NAS) who has four children studying in Ireland says, ''the main reasons we chose Ireland for our children were because it is a safe place, where the people are warm and friendly and it has a top quality education system with many of the leading establishments equal to, if not better than, others in Europe. For some reason people in the MENA region looking to study abroad often overlook Ireland and they do not realise how many benefits it has. It is also very well connected by a…

Kuwait city: Here we take a look at Kuwait, a country that has seen strong recent growth in international academic mobility and one that we believe will continue to be a fruitful destination for international recruiters.(We are publishing a report on Kuwait Higher Education published in World Education News and Reviews.)


Compared to many of its regional neighbors – most notably Saudi Arabia, the UAE, and Qatar – the northern Gulf state of Kuwait does not spend extravagantly on higher education. However, it does have institutions of higher education that are well regarded in the region, in addition to plans aimed at developing the education system to better meet the human capital needs of the labor market for the benefit of the country and its economy.

Kuwait’s current strategy for higher education includes strengthening access to both vocational and university higher education, developing world-class universities, encouraging the development of private universities in collaboration wit…