Capitalising on diversity

With the rapid growth of youth numbers in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region, there is an expanding market of students seeking transnational education, a demand the newly-launched New York University Abu Dhabi (NYUAD) is responding to said provost Mariet Westermann.

This is not only because their countries cannot accommodate them but because students are actively seeking to go abroad. Such is the case with NYUAD "as we find these students knocking on our door now," said Westermann.

A model of reform

Westermann spoke to Campus Notes at the Higher Education in the Global Age Conference organised by NYUAD recently.

She said there are several ways of restructuring higher education to respond more effectively to the forces of globalisation, of which NYUAD is a model.

She said other methods include sending students abroad — irrespective of whether they return to their home country — opening new national institutions and forging international partnerships.

Aiming for diversity

"We've decided to do it in a way that bases us here and makes us engage very much with Abu Dhabi, the UAE and the region in hopes to give back," she said. NYUAD's aim is to give some of what it has learnt through its global enterprise, back to the community here, Westermann said.

Westermann said it is important to think of the university as one of diversity. NYUAD is the Gulf region's first international liberal arts university.

Vice-chancellor Al Bloom deems the study of liberal arts as a "pathway to a conscious perspective of what is happening to you". He said NYUAD's aim is to create interlocking commitments of interests that pull the students in all directions to break apart their culture difference, from which they then come to understand each other.

This is relevant because Westermann explained NYUAD aims to gain strong access to the local community in the UAE, along with "mixing it up" with students from other parts of the world interested in coming to the UAE.

"Young people see this part of the world and say what the UAE is doing is incredible," she said. "It's using its assets to create research opportunities and jobs."

Westermann added that NYUAD will therefore make for an interesting intercultural environment where international students will need to learn from the local students and vice versa.