Job Discussion Forums

[GlobalDawg]

I am interested in learning about Zayed Univerity. Does anyone know anything about the institiution with regard to teaching there?

[Burqa Babe]

It depends what you want to teach? ZU has a campus in Dubai but also opening outside Abu Dhabi! They teach mainly National Emirati students but there is also an International branch and Community branch to the place. On the whole the Uni is regarded as a reputable and professional place.

[veiledsentiments]

It is one of the more difficult places to get a job because they demand MAs and appropriate experience. They are also very high tech and want people who are able to integrate computers into their teaching. ZU is quite a demanding employer and expects their teachers to be very professional.

I would say that it is in the top 2-3 of the best teaching jobs in the Gulf. (all is relative, of course)

VS

[mishmumkin]

Anyone know their salary range?

[Taipei_Girl]

Anyone about the work conditions?
Work load (saw somewhere it's 20 hours a week, teaching very small classes)?
Office hours (are you expected to stick around from 9 till 5 everyday???)
Vacations (what i've seen so far from this forum is broad: some places offering 2 weeks vacation a year, other offering something like 3 months)?
General work atmosphere? Students??? Etc!
Thanks !

[MrScaramanga]

Most tertiary institutions now require MAs + 3-5 years experience. I know for a fact that UAEU is one them, as is HCT now. So, ZU is no longer so hard to get into as compared to other places... The UAE has toughened requirements for candidates to qualify for jobs.
MrS

[MrScaramanga]

Forgot to mention that ZU does require employees (teachers) to be tech savvy, but so does HCT. Gone are the white board days of the 20th century... We are now in the laptop era, and it is here to stay!

[mishmumkin]

Mr.S,

Do you know how the starting salary differs from HCT?

[QatarChic]

I've always wanted to go to Zayed, based on reviews I've heard from other people- problem is I don't have an MA yet Hopefully I'll start applying for teaching jobs there once I complete it.

[MrScaramanga]

ZU uses a salary scale based on degree (MA or PhD) + years of experience. So it is difficult to predict starting salary. However, to give you an idea, quite a few teachers working there left last year for better salaries in Qatar -- mostly Canadians who went to CNA-Q, and others who went on to QU. From that information and knowing that starting salary at QU is around QR14,000 (1QR = 1AED roughly), that would put starting salary at ZU at less than AED14,000, unless of course there has been a raise since then...
If someone out there knows the exact figure, please let us know.
MrS

[Manny2]

Re the need to be tech savvy for ZU jobs. Last year coached a friend who had an interview and was not confident in that area and we were both very surprised that in the interview which lasted over 1 hour with 4 interviewers the topic never came up.

In fact all they really seemed interested in was knowing how he would cope with having to deliver set prepared materials (book based) and how to motivate unmotivated students - examples to be given.

[herenow]

ZU English Language Programme starting salaries are between 11,000 and 15,000 Dhs monthly. No expectation of extra committee work, but there are opportunities for this if you want to get more involved. Class sizes can be as high as 18 or 19 students at the beginning of the year. Ideally classes are capped at 16 students, some classes may have as few as 10 (but not very often). There is a focus on how teachers are able to use technology in the classroom and all students have laptops. Classrooms have wireless connections.

[veiledsentiments]

[Taipei_Girl]

Thanks for the replies. I guess it's pretty different than Taiwan's universities: come in only for your classes and office hours, then out you go! Also, students are mostly (like 95%) very unmotivated, drag themselves to class and won't talk/ask a question until prompted by a cattle prod. Actually, most of them plan to spend their life on the island and never have/will use English in any relevant way, so I see their POV. To make sure they really get the most out of their English classes, the uni will herd them into 64 student classes...

Teaching in a professional work environment, with high tech classrooms and a low number of students sounds awesome. Add to it female students that are eager to talk, and I'm swimming all the way to the UAE!!!

VS: you are such a great source of info!!! Thanks for your generosity!

[773]

Hi Taipei Girl!!!

having worked in both Taiwan and in the UAE, I should clear up a few things, just so you have a better perspective:

-Most Emirati women will spend their entire lives in the UAE too, as they don't have the freedom to study / work overseas;

-There certainly is no problem with reticence in UAE classrooms, they talk a great deal; however, they are highly unmotivated, much moreso than Taiwanese uni students, when it comes to their studies. Like Taiwanese, they like to be spoonfed, but UAE nationals in particular seem to expect being handed good grades for little or no work.

-The focus on technology in the classroom is not found in all places. For example, at UAEU, computers are antiquated, students don't have a laptop requirement, and the only "technology" in the classrooms are old OHPs and whiteboards. There are computer labs, but projectors are unreliable and the computers are antiquated.

Compared to students here, Taiwanese uni students seem high achieving and hardworking. This is a generalization, of course; I do have some hardworking Emirati students, but they are rare.