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[Noor]

Graduates go back to school

By Amelia Naidoo, Notes Editor
Published: August 06, 2009, 22:38
GULFNEWS.com

Dubai: UAE universities are increasingly focusing their energies on expanding their postgraduate programmes to meet the demand due to the shortage of these programmes in the country.

The University of Wollongong in Dubai (UOWD), which has the largest percentage of postgraduate students, this week announced that it has 700 postgraduate places available for the autumn semester. The university currently has 1,100 postgraduate students, who comprise 44 per cent of its student population.

"The demand is quite high for postgraduate degrees and the global financial crisis has not affected us. In fact, we've had a 17 per cent growth [in student numbers] this year compared to last year," said Mohammad Khalifa, UOWD Vice President (Academic).

"In the UAE there has been a shortage of postgraduate programmes - the focus was on undergraduate degrees. Now students who have graduated are looking to further their education. This highlights the need to develop the sector further."

He said UOWD was developing new masters and PhD degrees and that it had submitted four new masters degrees to the Ministry of Higher Education and Scientific Research for accreditation.

Meanwhile, London Business School announced that its executive MBA offered at the Dubai Centre - London Business School has seen a 20 per cent increase in admissions despite the global economic downturn.

"[This] highlights the importance that people are placing on further study at this time," said director of the Dubai Centre Dr Kevin Dunseath. He said that 78 places were available for the executive MBA programme and tuition was about $88,000 (Dh323,217) for the September 2009 and January 2010 intake.

Dunseath added that unlike most executive MBA programmes in the region, the Dubai Centre - London Business School programme was not a distance learning course and is taught face-to-face by the same faculty as the London-based programme. The faculty members fly between the campuses to ensure students get the same quality of teaching as their counterparts in London. Students also take some core courses in London and have further options to take international modules.

Information sessions

The University of Wollongong in Dubai (UOWD) will information sessions for prospective students in Abu Dhabi and Dubai to introduce them postgraduate programmes offered in the autumn semester that begin on September 28.

The first session will be held at the Abu Dhabi Hilton Hotel Corniche on Tuesday, August 11, at 6.30 pm. The second session will be held in Dubai on August 12, at 6.30 pm at Block 15, Dubai Knowledge Village. Academic and administration officials from UOWD will be at hand to advise students on the programmes offered. Masters programmes in Business Administration, International Business, Quality Management, Strategic Marketing, Applied Finance and Banking, Engineering Management, Logistics, IT Management and Strategic HR Management are currently offered.

http://www.gulfnews.com/nation/Education/10338118.html

[helenl]

One of my favourite stories about one post graduate program at UOWD When, during an exam, students were (a) talking to each other and (b) copying from each other and then (c) complaining to the professor that the exam was "too hard" and he agreed to take their comments into consideration when marking.

A Western/European/Australian name on the front door does not necessarily mean a "quality accredited" program. Just that they need the money.