Male students to be admitted to Zayed varsity's KV campus

Dubai: One hundred male students will be admitted to Zayed University's (ZU) Knowledge Village (KV) campus and fifty to the Abu Dhabi campus next September, the Zayed University Council announced on Monday.

Shaikh Nahyan Bin Murabak Al Nahyan, Minister of Higher Education and Scientific Research and President of Zayed University, Ahmad Humaid Al Tayer, Member of the ZU Council and Chairman of National Human Resources Development and Employment Authority (TANMIA), Dr Sulaiman Al Jasem, ZU Vice President and other university council memberes met on Monday at the university's Dubai International Academic City (DIAC) campus to discuss administrative appointments, rules and regulations, annual budgets and new projects.

Dr Al Jasem said that 100 male students will be admitted next year to the KV campus, given they meet the admissions requirements of the university. ZU's campus in DIAC is still all female, while the branch at Dubai Media City receives male and female post-graduates who are completing their master's degrees. The Abu Dhabi campus is all female, except for one building dedicated to training 307 men from the UAE Armed Forces. Both the Abu Dhabi and the KV campuses will start enrolling male students in its undergraduate programme next year, and the number of students allowed every year will henceforth be decided based on the university's capacity.
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"International students will follow but the allotted number of students is still under study," Al Jasem told the press.

Kholoud Al Atiyat, fourth-year public relations and advertising student said that she won't be affected by the change as she attends the DIAC campus. "Personally I won't believe it will affect me in any negative way; on the contrary, it will give me the chance to form more friendships and prepare me for the workplace where there is no segregation. In addition, I am already working and I am used to dealing with men in the work environment so it won't be new to me," she said.

Salama Khansaheb, communication journalism student, said that the step is a good expansion for the university but the reaction will depend on the students, their families and culture.

"It's a good thing as long as there are enough resources for both campuses, and it gives the students more than one option so they can choose what is suitable for them," she said.

The council discussed the university's budget and agreed that near the end of the year, it will be based on the aggregate cost of each student. They said that they were trying to raise funds by the amount of Dh 2 billion to invest in university advancement. The president and vice president of the funds have yet to be names.

Meanwhile, the university has spent almost Dh 3 billion on setting up the new Abu Dhabi campus, which opens September 2011.

The council also announced the appointment of Dr Daniel Johnson as the new provost of the university.