Abu Dhabi: The new Paris-Sorbonne University-Abu Dhabi announced the launch of the first French institution of higher education in the Gulf region.

The Abu Dhabi branch of the Sorbonne University will be the university's first campus outside France.

The new institution will be co-educational and enrolment will be open to all students from in the UAE and beyond.

The Paris-Sorbonne University-Abu Dhabi campus aims to attract the best of the student community and also to reinforce the international reference of an institution "whose authority has been recognised for centuries", a university official told a press conference.

The university will confer the Paris-Sorbonne University Bachelor's Degree, recognised in both France and the European Union (EU).

Professor Jean-Robert Pitte, President of the Paris-Sorbonne University and Chairman of the Management Council (Board of Trustees) of the new Abu Dhabi campus, said the university was proud to open its branch in Abu Dhabi.

"We did not choose Abu Dhabi, Abu Dhabi chose us," Pitte said.

The board of trustees will include, in addition to Professor Jean-Robert Pitte, Daniel Ollivier, Director of the President's Office at the Paris-Sorbonne University and Chancellor-select of the new campus, and Catherine Vieillard, Secretary-General of the Paris-Sorbonne University.

Trustees from the UAE will include Dr Maitha Al Shamsi, Assistant Provost for Research at the UAE University, Brigadier Omar Al Bitar, Commander of Khalifa Bin Zayed Air College, and Zaki Nussaibah, Advisor at the Ministry of Presidential Affairs.

The Paris-Sorbonne University-Abu Dhabi will also participate in present at this year's Gulf Education and Training Exhibition (Getex).

Education
Scholarships available

The Sorbonne University-Abu Dhabi will use the campus of Abu Dhabi University as a temporary campus until the permanent campus is built in University City, Khalifa D Area outside Abu Dhabi. Construction will be complete during 2007-2008 academic year.

Fees for any major will be about Dh60,000 a year.

Two hundred students will be admitted in October. Of them, 50 will get full scholarships and 50 partial scholarships.

Students will be able to complete their study at the Paris Sorbonne or any other European university they choose. The first day of school will be on October 7.

An intensive French programme will be offered to non-fluent speakers who want to join the University. Majors include Archeology and Art History, French and Comparative Literature, Geography and Urban Planning, History, Information and Communication, Languages and Civilisations, Music and Musicology, and Philosophy and Sociology. Additional majors such as law, economics and political sciences will be introduced in the 2007-2008 academic year.

The structural design of the new campus will capture the 'dome' from the Paris-Sorbonne Chapel in a 21st century style.