ABU DHABI // Abu Dhabi University, the emirate’s largest private institution, has announced plans to build an engineering college at a cost of Dh28 million.
The 9,200-square metre facility, expected to be ready for students by August next year, will include 12 classrooms, 110 faculty offices and 30 labs catering to specialisations such as civil, mechanical, electrical, computer and chemical engineering, as well as aviation, information technology, interior design and architecture.
“Our engineering college is perhaps the largest in terms of the number of students,” said Dr Nabil Ibrahim, the university’s chancellor.
“The college has 2,077 students enrolled in nine undergraduate programmes and 144 students enrolled in eight postgraduate programmes, making up 30 per cent of our student population.
“We’re expecting more demand for engineering since the college was awarded international academic accreditation.”
It was hoped the new college would encourage more Emiratis to study engineering as the country’s nuclear energy industry develops.
Christer Viktorsson, head of the Federal Authority for Nuclear Regulation, said training a generation of Emirati scientists and engineers was a priority.
“This country cannot rely completely on expatriates,” he said. “We need to push Emiratisation harder.”
Mr Viktorsson said FANR plans to strengthen links with universities to train more nuclear engineers.
ADU’s expansion is in line with a programme of improvements at its Al Ain and Abu Dhabi campuses. “Renovations and maintenance of classrooms, labs, equipment, networks and infrastructure on both campuses is an annual practice,” Dr Ibrahim said.
“This year we’re making several additions that will benefit both new and continuing students, including a technology centre with a base fund of Dh500,000, as well as the dedication of Dh6m to research, in addition to attracting faculty members who hail from world-class universities.”
Nesma Amr, 19, a third-year student in arts and sciences majoring in environmental health and safety, said the new college and the renovations and upgrades were welcome.
“Upgrading the labs is something we’ve asked for. We always complained about things in labs and they are planning to work on it, and hopefully fix things.
“A lot of the other renovations are going to be online, like the online learning and where we go to check our grades and lectures. We will all be affected by that. It will make things more efficient for us.”
Dr Ibrahim said the improvements were necessary as ADU was going through the accreditation process with the US-based Western Association of Schools and Colleges, which it hopes to conclude by the end of this year.
The accreditation body advised the university to improve student services, facilities and campus life as the application progressed.
newsdesk@thenational.ae
