Philippine-based varsity to open campus in Bahrain

The Philippines-based AMA Computer University is set to open a campus in Bahrain this fall with the aim of providing "a world class Information Technology education" to Gulf students and expatriate Filipinos.

It will offer a wide range of courses, including information technology, business management and engineering, Chairman Dr. Amable Aguiluz said in a statement carried yesterday by the Bahrain News Agency.

"The aim is to provide expatriate Filipinos with a chance to continue their education without returning home and to provide Bahrainis and other Gulf nationals with more educational options," he said.

The number of Filipino expatriates living in the Gulf Cooperation Council countries is estimated at 2.5 million.

The university will open in Manama in September. Its four-storey building will house 1,000 students.

Dr Aguiluz is currently visiting Bahrain at the invitation of Prime Minister Sheikh Khalifa bin Salman Al Khalifa.

"We are proud to share and support the vision of the Prime Minister to make Bahrain not only a centre of finance and trade but also a regional centre of excellence in education," he noted.

"We will bring in the necessary cash, infrastructure and equipment to make it a learning centre of excellence. We shall introduce here all the courses offered by AMA in Philippines," Dr. Aguiluz said.

The university, he noted, is a member of the American League of Colleges and Universities, which has 42 member schools.

"We are also a premier education partner of Microsoft, the regional training academy for Cisco Systems and an exclusive training partner of Avaya Communications," he said.

In the statement, AMA Vice-president and International Branch Operations Head Jaime P Barbosa said the Bahrain centre would initially offer four-year degree courses, a continuing education programme to help professionals to upgrade their skills and a technical vocational certification programme.

"We shall also offer UK and U.S.-certified diploma programmes. Plans are under way to offer Masters and Ph D programmes in the long run," he said.

The University has three centres in Bangladesh and one each in Hong Kong, Singapore, Los Angeles, U.S., and Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.