The British University in Dubai to debut at the 16th Gulf Education and Training Exhibition

The university is the first post graduate research-based British university to open its doors in the UAE.

"The establishment of the Knowledge Village in Dubai opened up the higher education sector to an unprecedented level. Students from the region, who would normally have travelled to countries outside the region for higher education options can now also choose from the ones available at the Knowledge Village. But above all, Knowledge Village represents the birth of a modern, distinctly Arab, educational tradition that combines the best of old Arabic traditions of education with the best modern education available at the global level," said Anselm Godinho, Managing Director, IC&E.

"British academic tradition in higher education is renowned the world over for its excellence in content and delivery. Its study programmes are highly coveted by ambitious students. In view of the UAE government's missions to provide excellence in higher education, the input of British Education experts can only be welcomed into the country's growing education sector. It is therefore, double fortuitous that BUiD should have its campus in the Knowledge Village," added Godinho.

"The British University in Dubai aims to make a distinctive British contribution to the higher educational system in the United Arab Emirates through the creation of a high quality research-led university," said David Loch, Registrar and Acting Chief Executive, BUiD. "The BUiD aims to offer the highest international competitive level of research-informed education in key modern disciplines, such as Information Technology, Engineering and Education. As a research-based University, we will seek to develop leading-edge research capabilities in all key disciplines."

BUiD's initial Informatics courses will be taught in conjunction with the University of Edinburgh's 5-star rated Department of Informatics, the largest and one of the best in the UK. The course will offer modules in Knowledge Management; Learning from Data; and Speech and Language Technologies. Besides highly qualified resident faculty, for regular two-way interaction with faculty in the University of Edinburgh the University has installed the video wall, an advanced form of video conferencing with a broader range of viewing perspective, in its lecture halls. Using the video wall students will be able to attend live lectures delivered in the UK, as well as interact freely with the lecturers to create the total class experience. Interaction with the University of Edinburgh's School of Informatics will also lead to joint research projects.

"BUiD is entirely committed to supporting the aspiration of the Dubai Government to become a hub for education and research in the region. To this end, we will also interact with regional industry and play a role in stimulating a knowledge-based economy in Dubai and the Emirates," said Loch.

BUiD will be participating as part of a large Knowledge Village Pavilion of 13 institutes at GETX 2004. Besides BUiD, the pavilion will host one leading academic centre each from India and Pakistan.

India's excellence in IT education will be showcased at the Knowledge Village Pavilion by the Birla Institute of Technology and Science (BITS). Based in Knowledge Village, BITS, which is the acknowledged leader of technological education in India, opened its Dubai Campus, the first outside India, in 2004. At GETX, BITS will seek to highlight its proven track record of academic excellence and the success of its Alumni in the corporate and manufacturing sectors at the global level.

Also part of the Knowledge Village Pavilion will be the Dubai Campus of Pakistan's Shaheed Zulfikar Ali Bhutto Institute of Science and Technology (SZABIST). Listed among the top business schools of the world, alongside Wharton, Kellogg, Harvard and MIT, by Asia Week and Business Week, SZABIST will seek to promote awareness of its programmes, started in October 2003, amongst the regional student community. Currently offering 4 programs that include BBA and BS in Computer Sciences at the Bachelors level and MBA and MS in Computer Sciences at the Masters Level, SZABIST will also be launching an EMBA (Executive Program) and a PhD program in the near future. Also in the pipeline are corporate trainings and personal skills enhancing workshops for working professionals.

Besides the three universities, Knowledge Village will also host several leading institutes of e-Learning, IT Training, as well as content and technology providers to the education sector.