University exchange programme

The first United Arab Emirates Student Personnel Exchange Agreement, signed last week, links six UAE universities with campuses in the US. It is expected to act as a gateway, helping UAE students expand their horizons and seek greater opportunities

It is by appreciating diversity, fostering sensitivity, sharing experiences, exchanging ideas and information and tolerating differences that educators and students get a chance to explore boundless educational possibilities.

An education that goes beyond the books they read or what they learn in classrooms.

This is also the aim of the first United Arab Emirates Student Personnel Exchange Agreement signed last week at the American University in Dubai.

The agreement linked the Student Affairs Professional Association (Sapa) and the National Association of Student Personnel Administrators (Napsa) from the United States with the UAE University, Higher Colleges of Technology in Dubai, Zayed University in Dubai, Sharjah University and AUD.

Representatives of the six universities and four from the US were present at the launch of the programme.

The purpose of the exchange programme, said Jennifer Hanson, Dean of Student Services at AUD, is to enable a group of student affairs professionals to visit universities and study their educational systems.

They can share information on education, policies and practices that support and encourage student learning and development.

"One of the key aims is to explore avenues of collaboration and cooperative agreements among institutions in the USA and the UAE," said Hanson.

"Through this trip, visiting professionals have a chance to meet higher education colleagues with similar interests, learn about student services, how programmes and activities are provided and funded, and meet with students at host institutions to develop an understanding of how students in other countries differ from those in the delegates' home countries."

Repaying the visit

Next year, student affairs representatives from the UAE's six participating universities will repay this visit by touring the American universities.

Fred Rhodes, Vice-President of Student Affairs, Dean of Students and Professor of Education from Bellarmine University in Kentucky, saw a wonderful opportunity in the gathering.

"The world has become a smaller place and the exchange programme is a chance for students to meet people from different places, share ideas and understand cultural differences," he said.

Rhodes said that the aim is to educate and prepare students for what is outside the university walls.

"I have been impressed with the cultural diversity around here and we are looking forward to our visit to the participating universities in the UAE. This exchange programme has started in many western countries, but we are very excited to begin here."

Birth of an idea

The idea was born while AUD was in the process of getting accreditation. According to Hanson an accreditation team member proposed the idea of their joining an international exchange programme.

"So I contacted the six universities here to discuss the possibility of joining this programme," she said.

"We have AUD offering American education, Zayed University, which is an all women's institute that illustrates a different side to education, Sharjah University to represent the Emirate of Sharjah and Higher Colleges of Technology with both men's and women's colleges in Dubai."

During their trip to the UAE, the American delegates were briefed on what each of the six UAE universities has to offer. They were then taken on a tour of the country, during which they visited the university campuses, met students and principals and representatives.

All this gave them a better understanding of the education system in the UAE in general.

So when will students who are part of the exchange programme start arriving in the UAE? These details, said Hanson, will be ironed out by each university separately.

A hot topic of discussion during the signing ceremony was cultural perceptions and the stereotyping of the Arab world.

The ideas that students and people in America have about Arab and Muslim countries are changing, said Melissa Shivers, Director of Multicultural Affairs at Clemson University.

"On the contrary, students were curious to know more about where I was going and who I was going to meet during my visit to the UAE. They were not concerned at all about what they hear in the news, but actually asked me about the gifts I was going to get them."

Sandra Hubler, Vice-President of Students Affairs at George Mason University, echoed Shivers' thoughts when she said that the way Americans view the Arab world would change dramatically through experimental learning and by getting first-hand experience.

She added, "What the media presents every day about this part of the world can not be fought easily. Yet the perceptions are changing and the only solution is for people to start reading and asking questions to understand the reality of the place here and the people living in it."

Hubler said that as a founding member of the exchange programme, she has learned a lot about other countries and found the experience of meeting people from various cultures enriching.

"So you can imagine how excited it is to be here. This country has lots of potential and we are interested in future relationships and we are looking forward to the UAE delegation to come and visit Washington D.C.," she said.

Number of benefits

The exchange programme is expected to benefit UAE's students immensely. "This is an opportunity for students to establish partnerships and expand their horizons," said Patricia Robinson, Assistant Dean of Students at Zayed University.

"Our objective is achieving 100 per cent employment for our students. The experience this programme provides opens up work opportunities and internship possibilities for our students."

The students will also benefit from being exposed to other cultures and educational systems.

Door-to-job opportunities will open up, especially since the marketplace in the country is open to all nationalities and there is a need to be able to fit in and function in multicultural corporations and companies, said Michael Bekhazi, Head of College Services at Dubai Men's College.

Napsa UAE International Exchange Programme
According to Jennifer Hanson, Dean of Student Services at the American University in Dubai,
the programme has begun with this first exchange. "This is the first initiative in the Middle East and
I am thrilled that it is here in the UAE."

The first National Association of Student Personnel Administrators (Napsa) international exchange started in September 1997, when a NAPSA delegation from the US visited France.

Other exchange programmes also existed in China, Ireland, England, France, Germany, Spain, South Africa and Mexico.

The aim is to give participants a chance to learn and share educational, socio-economic, political,
religious and cultural differences and to gauge the level of interest expressed by students in participating in study abroad programmes.

Participating universities from the UAE

• American University in Dubai
• Zayed University - Dubai Campus