Zayed University enhances its library with a French gift

Abu Dhabi: Zayed University (ZU) library was recently gifted more than 100 books by the French embassy and the L’Institut Français (French Institute in the UAE) to encourage Emirati students to learn the European language.

The gifting of books, written by contemporary French authors, was French Ambassador Alain Azouaou’s way of fostering closer ties between the French and Emirati cultures, said Mary Sengati-Zimba, Associate Professor and ZU Abu Dhabi Campus Librarian.

“ZU students recently set up a French Club and the French Ambassador was at its inauguration and so he decided to support the students through a book gift,” said Sengati-Zimba. “The books will be kept in the library to give all students and faculty members access to them.”

During the recent donation ceremony, Azouaou announced the inaugural trip of two ZU students, who have been granted a linguistic scholarship by Institut Français. The students will spend three weeks at the Centre International d’Antibes, to learn French, after a brief cultural stay in Paris.

Additionally, two more Emirati students will journey to France for the Sciences Po Paris Summer School.

“ZU, with its 4,000 students on its Abu Dhabi campus, has obviously become a key partner for the embassy,” said Azouaou.

“I hope this collaboration will enhance opportunities for scientific and cultural exchange between ZU and those French institutions,” said Dr Sulaiman Al Jasem, Vice-President of ZU.

The gift of knowledge

The books are recent publications on various subjects such as history, geography, sociology, political science, international studies, philosophy, anthropology, psychology and economy.

“These books cover social studies and humanities, subjects not only of interest to our faculty and students; but also researchers and library patrons from UAE’s other federal universities,” said Sengati-Zimba. “The benefit of these volumes will extend way beyond the ZU community.”

French is taught at ZU as a club activity and has not integrated into the curriculum yet, despite the existence of an enthusiastic group of students eager to learn the language, added Sengati-Zimba

“However, there are students proficient enough in the language to make full use of the books both for their studies and personal reading.”

The ZU Library is a member of the Federal University Libraries; know as the Liwa Project, which links the UAE’s federal institutions to a central library of more than 900,000 books.

“We are glad to strengthen the links between France and Emirati youth to foster cultural and intellectual dialogue between our respective countries,” said Antoine Grund, Deputy Director of the Institut Francais.

The Embassy’s hopes are high for widespread French influence within the University.

“We would like to see French become an elective subject fully integrated in the curriculum, as is the case at UAE University,” said Grund. An idea not too far-fetched for ZU it seems. “A natural step would be to move to a more structured offering — for instance to fully integrated French in the undergraduate curriculum,” said Al Jasem.