Education agreements to rise in the (Middle) East for CQUni
Published on 11 February, 2010
VC mission to UAE and Syria to open doors.
CQUniversity has the potential to provide enhanced degrees and services to Central Queenslanders through cooperative arrangements with at least 3 Middle Eastern universities following a week-long series of meetings between CQUniversity Vice-Chancellor Scott Bowman, university Vice-Chancellors and the Ministers of Higher Education of both the United Arab Emirates and Syria.
"I am convinced there are many opportunities to build links with this part of the world," wrote Vice-Chancellor Scott Bowman on his blog from Abu Dhabi.
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Professor Bowman with Syria's Minister of Higher Education Dr Ghias Barakat
Professor Bowman met separately with the UAE's Minister of Higher Education, His Highness Sheikh Nahayan Mabarak Al Nahayan and Syria's Minister of Higher Education, Dr Ghias Barakat, on a 6-day undertaking which ended Sunday. It also included talks with the Abu Dhabi Education Council, the UAE's Higher Colleges of Technology, Damascus University -- the largest and oldest university in Syria; Syria's Minister of State for Environmental Affairs; and the Arab International University in Syria.
Professor Bowman said nursing, medical imaging, medical laboratory science, paramedics and aviation management were areas of study in which CQUniversity and the UAE's Higher Colleges of Technology could collaborate, based on each other's extensive experience in their respective specialities. The Colleges are just starting to develop railway engineering programs, too, an area in which CQUniversity -- on the UAE's list of "approved" Australian Universities -- benefits from a world-wide reputation.
From the UAE Professor Bowman travelled 2000 kilometres northwest to Damascus, Syria -- known to be the oldest continuously inhabited city in the world -- which has more than 20 public and private Universities and more than two million students enrolled in tertiary education.
"The Minister was very welcoming, giving us a very detailed briefing of Syrian higher education and the role CQUniversity could play, including hosting Syrian students.... We are going to pursue a relationship with the Ministry of Higher Education," said Professor Bowman.
Following meetings with Damascus University's Vice-Chancellor, Professor Dr Wael Mualla, Professor Bowman announced that both universities would conduct a joint "virtual" conference later this year involving academic exchanges on environmental sciences, water conservation and land management.
Collaborative research, co-degrees, study-abroad and staff development programs were on the agenda in meetings with the Arab International University, one of the largest private universities in Syria, with 4500 students and 5 faculties: Pharmacy, Civil Engineering, Architecture, Fine Arts and Informatics Engineering.
Exchanges with these Universities could generate quite a bit of activity for CQUniversity, according to Professor Bowman.
"It will involve a lot of contact and cooperation among academics. Many of the issues we face in Central Queensland are similar to the challenges universities in the Middle East experience: skills shortages, natural resource management and environmental impact, and governments are investing heavily in higher education to meet the growing demand for higher education," added Professor Bowman.
In late January, CQUniversity also participated in the International Exhibition for Higher Education in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, receiving applications from people wanting to study, engineering, IT, nursing and more at CQUniversity.
Read Vice Chancellor Scott Bowman's overseas blog entries at http://www.vc-cquniversity.blogspot.com/
Professor Bowman with Damascus University's Vice-Chancellor, Professor Dr Wael Mualla