Canadian University Open Day

The Canadian University in Dubai (CUD) recently held its open day at its premises on Shaikh Zayed Road. New students and their parents had the opportunity to find out about the university's programmes, facilities and to meet faculty members.

The event was also attended by R. Butti Saeed Al Gandi, Chairman, Emirates Investment and Development PSC, who addressed the students. He said, "We will provide the tools to help students become entrepreneurs, who are not seekers of jobs but creators of jobs". He added, "networking holds the key to success in the future". He urged teachers and students to work together for perfection."

Accreditation and programmes

Some of the programmes of the School of Medical Science and Environmental Health are in the process of accreditation. The university plans to offer medical and dental programmes, pharmacy up to the doctoral level, four-year courses in dental hygiene and BSc in nutrition and health.

Dr Karim Chelli, the principal of the university introduced the chair and the faculty of the various departments and said, "I am proud to be associated with CUD as CUD is the first Canadian University outside Canadian borders".

He said: "Some of CUD's programmes have been accredited by the ministry and the rest are in the process. The partnerships between CUD and Canadian institutions such as Centennial College, Athabasca, and the University of New Brunswick make it possible for students to transfer credits earned here to those institutions."

"Student and faculty exchange programmes will be facilitated through these collaborations."

There will also be programmes in business with specialisations in HR, eBusiness etc.

Dr Mohammad Al Sherbini, Chair of Engineering, Applied Sciences and Technology said: "The initial accreditation for engineering technology courses has been secured.

"The programmes will be a blend of theories, technologies, practical training, business and management. We will also be offering conventional bachelors programmes in engineering with specialisations in telecommunications, software engineering and courses in applied science and computer graphics to start with", he added.

Arts and sciences

Dr Raymond Herbert, chair, liberal arts and sciences, stressed the need to pursue courses such as Middle East culture, psychology, sociology and other liberal arts disciplines. "Apart from helping you get your GPA up, these courses will help students become well rounded and gain understanding of ME culture," he said.

— The writer is the director of Counselling Point Educational and Social Services