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Heralding change
Dr Simon Jones recently joined Abu Dhabi Men's College as its director. He comes with extensive experience in academia, research and business.
- By Amelia Naidoo, Staff Reporter
- Published: 23:29 October 11, 2008
- Dr Simon Jones is the new director of Abu Dhabi Men's College.
- Image Credit: Supplied photo
When Dr Simon Jones first visited Abu Dhabi Men's College he was immediately struck by the quality of the students and realised that it was a special place where he could lend his expertise. He is now director of the college and is eager to take it to new heights.
What attracted you to Abu Dhabi Men's College?
I came for a visit and was impressed by the quality of the students and in particular the way Information Technology is used to assist learning, perhaps more successfully than any other place I know. Furthermore, the wise and thoughtful guidance of Shaikh Nahyan Bin Mubarak Al Nahyan, Minister of Higher Education and Scientific Research and Chancellor of the Higher Colleges of Technology (HCT), and the outstanding leadership of Dr Tayeb Kamali (HCT Vice-chancellor) made me realise this is a very special place indeed. When I saw all that, I wanted to be part of it.
What changes do you hope to bring about at the college?
Abu Dhabi Men's College is already a great college. My task is to make it greater still. I have three priorities for the college over the next 12 months. Firstly to put entrepreneurialism at the heart of everything we do. The big change among this generation of students is to start their own businesses. We must support them in that.
Secondly our focus on e-learning will be strengthened and deepened in particular by the support of Mobile Learning. There are 10 times as many cell phones as PCs. People carry their cell phones everywhere; we want to enable learning anyplace and anytime.
Thirdly I want to build up our research activity by the creation of a new Innovation Centre at the College and develop a new Master's Programme in Engineering and the Creative Industries to sit along side our Executive MBA.
Are there any challenges that you think need to be addressed?
The higher education market is about to become a lot more competitive with many prestigious institutions setting up here. We welcome that competition and will respond to it vigorously in terms of our programmes and the overall student experience.
We are confident that with the right programmes and putting the quality of the student experience at the heart of everything we do, we can maintain our position as the college of choice of young Abu Dhabi men.
Your expertise is engineering. Do you plan on adjusting the curriculum in any way?
Engineering is and always will be at the heart of Abu Dhabi Men's College. But engineering changes quickly, that's why it is such a fun subject. We need to continually refresh our current programmes and add new provisions.
The Master's in Creative Industries is one such example of how engineering develops. Access to state-of-the-art laboratories for us is essential and updating them as technology moves faster will keep us on our toes!
Why should students pursue a career in engineering?
Engineering is the most fun anyone can have as a career. Engineers are creative people. We make things that other people only dream about. We work in teams with people all over the world in a fast-moving, exciting field. If you want to design things and be creative, engineering is the career for you. Studying engineering can be tough: it stretches you in many ways but if you want to change this world for the better and have a lot of fun at the same time, engineering is the way to go.
Are there any research areas you are passionate about?
I am fascinated by the way people interact with each other via the experience of digital content. In the Abu Dhabi Men's College context this means the way we learn. We're just at the start of the mobile revolution and at the college we will pioneer new ways of learning for the benefit of our students, the UAE and mankind in general. Right now it's a once-in-a-generation moment for making a difference to the way we learn.
Are you planning on expanding the college's course offerings?
We work closely with industry and continually add new programmes as requested. We also intend to extend our masters offerings to provide a Master's in Engineering, covering Technology, Leadership and Sustainability and a Master's in the Creative and Cultural Industries producing people comfortable with technology, business and design. It's going to be a fascinating 12 months for us.
What is your vision for the college?
We'll be the "go-to" place when people want to find out about the latest ideas and practices in higher education. We'll serve the people and industry of the UAE by providing world-class education and innovative ideas. We'll produce graduates who when they say they were educated at HCT, will command respect wherever they go.
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