University of Wollongong in Dubai seeks to instill strong research culture among students

The University of Wollongong in Dubai (UOWD) will be on hand at the 18th edition of the Gulf Education and Training Exhibition (GETEX) to offer first-hand information and support to people considering academic opportunities at both undergraduate and postgraduate levels in the UAE and the wider region.

GETEX, held from the 12th to 14th April, 2006, at the Dubai World Trade Centre Complex, will feature a number of academic institutions as well as regional and international experts who will participate in seminars to address the importance of learning technology, the development of tertiary education and human resource training.

UOWD enjoys the distinction of being the only Australian university - and the oldest private university - in the UAE and is one of very few universities accredited by the UAE Ministry of Education. Furthermore, UOWD has 2,200 students, half of which are studying at postgraduate level, and a student body represented by 76 nationalities.

UOWD is one of the most research-active universities in the GCC with a strong and dynamic research culture - weekly research seminars, a working papers series, workshops, research newsletters and lectures by visiting scholars from around the world are common at UOWD. Moreover, a number of courses in business, IT and languages with internationally recruited professors are at the core of UOWD's offerings to its students and community.

UOWD is a university that gives back to the community it serves. It offers the Program for Enhancing Learning and Teaching (PELT) which helps students in several ways. "PELT runs free workshops offering independent advice on how to choose a university, providing help to students with their studies or helping teachers develop their skills," said Dr Lejla Vrazalic, Associate Professor in the College of Business and PELT Co-ordinator at UOWD. "We also publish an industry newsletter and conduct workshops and seminars for the business community jointly with our industry partners." One of the university's most innovative programs is the Expert Lecture Series which sees industry experts and UOWD graduates give lectures about issues relevant to the local social and business context.

Since joining Knowledge Village, UOWD has scored a number of big achievements, the latest of which came last month. On March 29, UOWD won the 1st prize in the Gulf-wide E-Biz Challenge. The next day, the university picked up 1st, 4th and 5th places in the 2006 National Programming Contest, organized by Etisalat. Earlier this year, UOWD students won 2nd place at the National Public Speaking Competition. Moreover, UOWD faculty have published their research recently in some of the world's top journals, such as the British Journal of Management, which accepts contributions from around the globe and includes articles across a full range of business and management disciplines.

UOWD is one of many Dubai Knowledge Village partner institutions, which will be represented by a diverse mix of companies from its learning community including renowned international universities and education companies. In addition to UOWD, the list includes UAE University, SAE Institute (Australia), Middlesex University (UK), British University in Dubai (UK), SZABIST (Pakistan), Royal College of Surgeons in Ireland, Manipal Academy for Higher Education (India), BITS Pilani (India) and Islamic Azad University (Iran).

The university will take the opportunity offered by GETEX to provide prospective students and parents with fair and accurate information on its programmes. "Our approach is simple - provide interested candidates with the information they need and answer whatever questions they may have," said Jay Jayatilaka, Manager of Marketing & External Relations. "The decision of which university they chose is, ultimately, up to them."