Dubai: Some 270 students were honoured yesterday at the second graduation ceremony of the Hamdan Bin Mohammad e-university held at the Cultural and Scientific Association building in Dubai.
Shaikh Hamdan Bin Mohammad Bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Crown Prince of Dubai, attended the ceremony yesterday and handed the graduating students their diplomas.
Sultan Bin Ayoud, one of the graduates, said he was able to balance both his daily duties and studying with the help of the e-university. With classes and books provided electronically at the tips of students’ fingers, one can get a degree while sitting on the beach, he added.
Graduating from Innovation and Change Management, Amal Al Misafiri was also able to balance her duties as a mother of three children, studying for her degree and working as the director of the training department of the Emirates Centre for Strategic Studies and Research (ECSSR) in Abu Dhabi.
“At first I felt it would be difficult because classes are not face to face,” she expressed. “But I started to feel like it’s the right choice for us, especially for those who are in my situation.”
The university not only accommodates those responsible for families, but also fresh high school graduates who work alongside their studies in order to pay for their tuition fees.
Dana Esmail, a student in the university, explained that most students enrolled in the university who work to pay for their fees would have found it difficult had they been registered in any other non-virtual university. Among these fresh high school graduates currently enrolled in the e-university is Emirati student Adel Anwar, currently studying Business Quality Management in Public Relations. Anwar fondly speaks of the e-learning environment, encouraging students to consider the option when applying to university.
“We get to know teachers from around the world, we are a network, we work with universities all around the world,” he said.
Hamdan Bin Mohammed e-university, established in 2002, is an institution that encourages electronic learning which is a type of education where the medium of instruction is computer-based. The university offers various academic disciplines such as business, health care, quality management, environment and education.
Maria Botros is an intern at Gulf News
