Novel programme in trans-national education targets Middle East youth at GETEX Dubai 2006

Keeping such a conglomeration of people together calls for progressive policies, new perspectives and special skills. As the nature of work and study rapidly acquires a global dimension in cosmopolises such as Dubai, people need to learn skills that will allow them to successfully operate in the 21st century's changing work environments.

Stepping in to fill this lacuna is The Scholar Ship, an innovative academic programme based on the concept of trans-national education that operates from its headquarters in The Netherlands and is set to make its first appearance at the Middle East's leading education fair, the Gulf Education and Training Exhibition (GETEX) Dubai 2006 scheduled for April 12 to 14 at the Dubai International Exhibition Centre.

"The Scholar Ship strives to prepare young people to live and work in an increasingly inter-dependent global environment. Our students will be exposed not only to a range of historically rich and compelling destinations, but as importantly, to other students who collectively form a colourful quilt of foreign cultures, languages and experiences," said Dr Joseph D Olander, President of The Scholar Ship.

"Through its presence at GETEX, The Scholar Ship brings the latest trends of trans-national and experiential education to the UAE and the Middle East region, which is home to people of many nationalities and serves as a link between the economies of the East and the West. Students and professionals here can benefit enormously from an education that prepares them for the global workplace," said Anselm Godinho, Managing Director of International Conferences and Exhibitions, organisers of GETEX Dubai 2006.

The Scholar Ship is a semester-long academic programme to be held aboard a specially equipped cruise ship that will set sail from Athens in Greece on its inaugural voyage on January 10, 2007, touching eight countries on five continents in the course of 16 weeks before ending the voyage on May 1, 2007. Sailing off twice a year in January and September, the Ship will visit ports in Morocco; Argentina; Uruguay; South Africa; Australia; Singapore; south India and Cyprus before returning to Athens.

Aboard The Scholar Ship will be a floating trans-national learning community of up to 700 undergraduate and postgraduate internationally diverse students being taught intercultural leadership and communication skills by a faculty of forward-thinking academics and business professionals with extensive experience in international and experiential education.

"Intercultural leadership and communication is relevant to all regions in this increasingly global world. We are targeting both undergraduate and post-graduate students from the Middle East. Through GETEX, The Scholar Ship hopes to build awareness and recruit students from the region for our novel programme," said Thijs van Vugt, The Scholar Ship's Deputy Regional Director for the Europe Middle East and Africa (EMEA) region.

The Scholar Ship targets students who seek a unique educational experience not found in traditional long-term programmes, or those keen to pursue their studies in an intercultural context or complement the educational objectives, or those looking for skills that will equip them for the 21st century's culturally, politically and linguistically diverse work environments.

"By establishing the Dubai Knowledge Village, the UAE has already taken the right steps in promoting trans-national education," said van Vugt. "The Scholar Ship enjoys the backing of universities from around the world, including Macquarie University of Sydney, Mexico's Tec de Monterrey, China's Beijing University, and is able to draw from diverse backgrounds, thus offering the best of all worlds," he added.

Through formal academic coursework, informal interaction and planned activities both onboard and during port calls, students will be taught a choice of subjects including world politics; global economy versus regional economy; sustainable development; environmental challenges; the technology revolution; gender roles; global demographics; public health; fundamental principles, practices, tools and systems of international business; global media issues; role of tourism in global economy; causes of, solutions for and management of conflicts; globalization and its impact on cultures; migration and intercultural knowledge management.

Backed by the Royal Caribbean Cruises, the Jane Goodall Institute and the Intercultural Communication Institute, The Scholar Ship programme aims to impart skills that will help participants function successfully in intercultural settings such as multinational businesses, diplomatic services, inter-governmental and non-government organisations, the United Nations, the media; diplomacy and international civil services.

Endorsed by the UAE Ministry of Education, GETEX Dubai 2006 will showcase a wide array of diverse, international study options in higher education and will host special segments on Technology and Equipment and on Corporate Training and Human Resource Development, for students, parents, professionals, academics and working persons from the UAE, the GCC states, the Indian subcontinent, Iran and other Middle East countries.