RAK Free Trade Zone promotes educational excellence

The Academy Zone special offer is valid until 29th October 2009.

A seminar is scheduled on 17th August at Shangri-La Hotel while B2B meetings are also scheduled for the 18th and 19th of August at the RAK Business Centre, The Fairmont Hotel, Dubai. Representatives from different international educational organisations, universities and training centres, will have the opportunity to learn about the products, services and facilities available within the Academy Zone.

A point of pride for RAK FTZ, the Academy Zone hosts top calibre educational institutions and training centres that give access to top quality educational courses and programmes.

To date, 14 educational institutions from the United Kingdom, France, Switzerland, USA, India, Egypt and Malaysia have set up in the Emirate of Ras Al Khaimah, seven of which are registered in RAK FTZ Academy Zone. These universities and colleges offer both undergraduate and postgraduate programmes.

Aside from degrees in various disciplines, students can also enrol in administrative, secretarial and vocational training; Art and instrument instruction; and marketing, management, computer and language courses.

The awareness campaign comes amidst the challenges currently faced by the UAE's education industry, especially in view of the soaring tuition fees highlighted in the media recently. RAK FTZ sees this as the ideal time to network and entice more quality educational institutions to set-up within Ras Al Khaimah and make their services available locally.

"Quality education is vital in the development of the emirate and the success of future generations. It should be affordable and easily accessible. Through this series of information awareness campaigns about our Academy Zone, we hope to attract high calibre institutions to our shores. By encouraging new colleges, universities and training centers to open in Ras Al Khaimah, we hope to promote healthy competition within the educational industry that will push each member to offer better education with competitive prices."

comments Oussama El Omari, CEO of RAK FTZ.

With approximately 6,500 students graduating from secondary school every year, RAK is an ideal location for academic institutions to set up international branches; and RAK FTZ offers a wide range of services and facilities that cater to different categories of education providers. Considering that Ras Al Khaimah is close to Dubai and other northern emirates will assist in enlarging the market for those educational organisations that will set up in the emirate.

This dedication to equip students from national and expatriate families with the knowledge and skills necessary to build rewarding careers and contribute to the local community and economy is a goal RAK FTZ shares with the UAE Ministry of Education's thrust to improve the nation's quality education and provide the latest information technology to students.

This campaign to attract universities and colleges to Ras Al Khaimah offers a two-way advantage; it enables educational establishments to open within the UAE, while offering UAE, and especially Ras Al Khaimah, residents' greater options when choosing their educational paths.

Information on how to set up within the Academy Zone will be made readily available to interested parties and is also easily accessible through the RAK FTZ liaison offices in countries such as the USA, Germany and Turkey.

Though relatively new, RAK Academy Zone is enjoying steady progress. Earlier this year, it celebrated the opening of the new Vatel Emirates School for Hospitality and Tourism Industry, an International Business School for Hotel and Tourism Management, and the new campus for Birla Institute of Technology, Ranchi.