Al Ain varsity ties up with French institute

As part of continuing cooperation between UAE and France, Al Ain University has signed a Memorandum of Cooperation with the Institut Francais Du Petrole (IFP).

According to the memorandum, Al Ain University and IFP will offer a common Master's in Petroleum Engineering course and cooperation in research.

"The framework of the agreement is to have a common Master's in Petroleum Engineering course at Al Ain University, starting from 2003," Claude Mandil, President, IFP, told reporters in the capital yesterday.

The duration of the course is two years.

"IFP will also cooperate with Al Ain University in research activities," he said.

The course is 'brand new' and an encouraging response is expected, given the fact that the UAE and countries in the Arab Gulf region are endowed with huge hydrocarbon reserves, said Mandil.

Mandil is leading a delegation from IFP to the UAE.

IFP operates in the UAE through the International Development Co (IDC), a 100 per cent company owned by Sheikh Tahnoun bin Saeed Al Nahyan and Saif bin Hamdan Al Mansouri.

IFP is a renowned French organisation, leader in the oil and gas domain and in the training and educational fields. IFP has private subsidiaries that industrialise and market the advanced products from the research and development efforts and provides top-level consultancy services to oil companies.

"We sign about 120 agreements with major research organisations annually and maintain a portfolio of 15,000 living patents by a continuous flow of innovations," he said.

In France, the IFP has a specialised engineering school with 350 students per year, half of them from abroad, and a continuing training organisation. "We have two students from the UAE," he said.