Behind the scenes at the UAE’s oldest university

The oldest higher education centre in the country, the UAEU was founded in 1976, only five years after the country was born.

UAEU was founded in 1976, only five years after the country was born. Sammy Dallal / The National
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Al Ain, a Unesco World Heritage site that has attracted travellers for more than 5,000 years, is the birthplace of the late Founding father Sheikh Zayed and home to the Royal Family of Abu Dhabi.

It also has a reputation as an oasis of learning. The city is fast becoming the UAE’s equivalent of Cambridge, through its pioneering UAE University, which is developing an international reputation for its research programmes.

The oldest higher education centre in the country, UAEU was founded in 1976, only five years after the country was born. In comparison, the Higher Colleges of Technology were established 11 years later in 1988, and Zayed University in 1998.

Today, UAEU is also the largest university in the country. Graduates include the provost, Prof Mohamed Albaili, who was in the first batch of students, and the Minister for Higher Education and Scientific Research, Sheikh Hamdan bin Mubarak.

Studying overseas was until very recently the only pathway for Emiratis to earn a doctorate and move into an academic career. But in 2009, UAEU led the way by becoming the country’s first university to develop PhD and DBA programs. Several federally licensed private universities quickly followed.

“This has been very successful and UAEU today boasts the highest percentage of Emiratis among the faculty – 26 per cent and growing”, says Dr Ali Al Noaimi, the vice chancellor.

These days, the UAEU offers the country’s broadest range of subjects.

“UAEU is a comprehensive university covering professional disciplines such as engineering, law, business, medicine, IT and agriculture, as well as the humanities and the social, natural and physical sciences”, says Dr Al Noaimi.

International rankings are starting to reflect the quality of the UAE’s higher education system. In this year’s QS World University Rankings, the UAEU came 385th, and the first ever Times Higher Education rankings for the Mena region (based on research effect) put it in 11th place. In both cases, UAEU ranked higher than any other UAE institution.

UAEU is preparing for international accreditation through the Western Association of Schools and Colleges in the US to provide further external confirmation of the university’s strengths.

But aside from what the rest of the world thinks, the most important question might be, “What do the students think?”

Ali Alkhezaimy, 20, is an engineering student from Al Ain who is about to start the third year of his studies.

“I like the environment. It’s a very big, modern university, especially with the new campus. I remember when I was in high school I used to drive past it and see this crescent building and I used to think that was the whole university.

“Then when I became a student, I found out that was only the administration building – the rest of the college is round the back. There are so many students and they come from all of the seven emirates so you get students from different cultures in the UAE, whereas you wouldn’t get that mix in high school and at some other universities.

“I also like the fact that you get to live in hostel accommodation, which you share with other students.”

As of spring this year, total enrolment at UAEU was 13,046 students, most of them women: 12,200 undergraduates plus foundation students (81 per cent female) and 138 doctoral students (64 per cent female).

There are also 708 master’s-level graduate students, 20 per cent of whom are from outside the UAE.

And it looks like that number is set to increase. UAEU has announced the development of a Science Park to bring together ideas, initiatives and resources from various UAEU colleges into one location.

UAEU is becoming known for its groundbreaking scientific researchers – Emiratis including College of Information Technology (CIT) graduates, Mohammed Al Matrooshi and Saeed Al Bairaq, who have been taking their own pioneering research out into the field.

The pair developed a mobile cybersecurity app called Packet Generator, which is now available on Google Play, as part of their senior graduation project.

The app allows users to turn their smartphones into a testing system for the effectiveness of firewalls and intrusion detection systems of a computer network.

The students say their idea came from recognising that there was a demand for efficient, easy-to-use mobile security tools to test the resilience of network and security devices. The app can be used to teach students how to hacking is done as part of their learning about computer security.

So far the App has proven very popular, with more than 8,000 downloads on Google Play and with an average user rating of 3.75.

Reflecting on the success of the app, Mr Al Matrooshi said: “It’s great to be able to design and carry out a project that might have real value. UAEU encourages innovation and imaginative thinking among students and provides them with necessary support and resources to succeed.”

Dr Shayma Al Kobaisi, dean of the college of IT, says her students are great examples of what the UAE are striving for: “Graduates who are skilled and innovative but, at the same time, are focussed on making a positive contribution to our society.”

artslife@thenational.ae

NOTE: The photo on this story has been changed since initial publication.