Job Discussion Forums

[yellofello]

What are the beaches like? Do you have to join a beach or sea club to windsurf? I read that the best places are near Fujeirah - is this the case?

Does ZU have staff recreational facilities? A staff club or staff pool or anything like that? What about a staff cafeteria? Once visited a friend at SQU - they had a fab staff club and pool. Does ZU have a discount with any hotel sports club?

[veiledsentiments]

SQU is pretty much the only place outside of KSA with such extensive facilities. Reality is that this was originally built for the workers from Cementation who constructed the campus and it was taken over by the university when the work was completed. Larger facilties were supposed to be built, but that never did happen. Still it is great for the people who live on campus.

And you need to be very careful of those jetskiers. There was a case not long ago where a teacher from HCT drowned after being hit by one (or was her husband the teacher?). They tend to drive the jetskis just like they drive cars... ie too fast and completely recklessly.

VS

[yellofello]

Thanks for the alerts VS I had heard that the jet ski people out there are careless and crazy. Do they take over all the beaches? Maybe I should try a different sport but have been windsurfing since I was eight. My passion and way to take my mind off things. Have also run classes for kids. Any chance of this in the UQE?

Can anyone answer my questions about beach clubs or hotel beach clubs?

Are there any cinema clubs? Another passion.

[uaeobserver]

to my knowledge, only UAEU in Al Ain has any special arrangements for social/recreation clubs. They have a good deal with the HIlton. If you work HCT or ZU --- suspect you're on your own. Central services appears to have little interest in securing reasonable arrangements for the staff. ADMC has a gym, though. A few people that work for HCT enjoy living in buildings with gyms and pools. I think it's luck of the draw, though.

In Abu Dhabi - the Hiltonia club is nice, but expensive. There are a few clubs to pick from - but they'll all run you a few thousand dihrams.

[MGreen]

HCT and UAEU both have deals with the gyms (Intercon, Hilton, Rotana) in Al Ain, but each year the packages change.

[Harriet]

ZU's English department has some excellent people and some lunatics. You will quickly learn which is which. You will find the atmosphere for the most part quite collegial among the English faculty. The head is quite supportive in general, but removed from the day to day running of the department. How you get on with the supervisors depends largely on you. Yes, there are cliques as there are everywhere. You need to find your place, but most people are friendly and helpful.

Regarding respect: some students will respect you and some will not. The students do have power, but a smart teacher can a) work with and around it and b) counteract any negative comments there may be from students. I think students at ZU treat teachers the same way they do all over the Middle East. As far as within the university goes, it depends. English teachers teach more hours than the other faculties, and PhDs are not required, though there are a few around. The department is not eligible for any grade other than 'Instructor', and therefore some of the Assts Assocs & Profs in other departments look down upon them. Higher management seems to ignore English as often as not. Within the department, people respect each other.

Regarding testing: like many of the programs here, there is an awful lot of testing and a lot of 'teaching to the test'. There are frequent exams, and students must take an IELTS or TOEFL test to get out of the program. If this bothers you too much, you will not be happy at ZU.

As far as morale goes, like everywhere, it goes up and down. Many teachers have been there since the beginning of the university, which must say something positive about the department.

[Anna Dubaya]

Harriet -- You are speaking of the "Bridge Program" AKA "Readiness." It is for students who did not get the required 500 TOEFL score.
The English Dpt at ZU is something else and functions separately from that unit.

[stoth1972]

[grand fromage]

The Academic Bridge Program was an excellent place to work for. The colleagues were top-notch and the administration (at least within the department) was mostly fair and very supportive. HR is also much more supportive, competent and approachable than in many places I know or have heard of. I did not have any serious issues in the 2 years I was there. I actually miss it a lot and hope they take me back when Dubai is a �normal� place again Keep up the good work Y.G. Missing you guys (but not Dubai traffic)...

[Harriet]

[Camelracer]

Hi Yellofello your last post was dated in July. Did you actually start work there yet?

Camelracer

[harrythehook]

I've got an interview coming up. I've read most of the stuff on Zayed, there seem to be very different expectations and experiences. I am hoping for a limited stress environment. How stressful is it to be working at Zayed? On a scale of ten, where would it be?

I've got an interview coming up. Any tips and advice?

[Chrisdaveloshoff]

In general, it is a good place compared to other Gulf institutions like Qatar University. Go for it.

[veiledsentiments]

What do you mean by stress? If you are looking for a place where you go in and teach your 15-20 hours per week... a couple of office hours... and wander on home, ZU isn't the place. They pay well and you have to earn it.

They are one of the better employers, but I would consider them to be rather high-pressure... demanding a lot from their teachers professionally. It is a 40+ hour a week job.

VS

[uaeobserver]