First Middle East online university launched in Dubai

Abdel-Khaleq Thawrat
For Al-Shorfa.com
2009-02-10

Crown Prince of Dubai Sheikh Hamdan bin Mohammed bin Rashid Al-Maktoum, the son of Sheikh Mohammed Bin Rashid Al Maktoum, vice president and prime minister of the United Arab Emirates and ruler of Dubai. (REUTERS/Ahmed Jadallah)

DUBAI – On Feb. 2, Crown Prince of Dubai Sheikh Hamdan bin Mohammed bin Rashid Al-Maktoum launched the first online university in Dubai and in the Middle East that bears his name, Hamdan bin Mohammed e-University. University dean Mansour Al-Awar confirmed at the opening ceremony that the university has obtained recognition from major educational institutions and international universities and full academic accreditation from all national institutions and bodies including the Ministry of Higher Education and Scientific Research.

Al-Awar said that e-learning will not replace traditional university education. The e-university will provide opportunities for direct communication between students during lectures and through the Internet, and opportunities for self-education. The new institution includes four colleges: business and quality administration, e-education, environmental and health studies, and further education. The university offers six graduate programmes in the first college, three in the second, and one in the third.

The university initiated an experimental period of operation last year, during which it succeeded in training 2,000 school principals in Saudi Arabia in non-degree programs. The number of participants in such programs this year will increase to include 5,000 principals, 900 employees in the urban planning authority in Qatar, and 700 government employees in Qatar and the UAE.

The cost of university tuition is around US$27,000 per year for undergraduates and $24,000 dollars at post-graduate level. The number of undergraduates at this point is 136 and 64 post-graduate students.

Al-Awar said that the university also aims to address the consequences of the current global economic crisis through e-learning that helps governments unable to meet the expenses of traditional university education due to increasing numbers of students and inability to fund fully the additional facilities and equipment required to expand education of youth and professional workers further.

[Sources: Al Khaleej newspaper / Al-Ittihad newspaper]

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