Branch campuses must integrate to be relevant

The opening of branch campuses by foreign universities may not offer education relevant to the Middle East.

The campus of the American university of Sharjah which was founded in 1997.

The opening of UAE branch campuses by foreign universities is "a fascinating experiment", but the education they offer may not be relevant to the Middle East unless they adapt to the community, the new chancellor of the American University of Sharjah says. Several foreign universities have already opened degree-awarding branches, and several more, including New York University, are scheduled to join them. The Paris-Sorbonne has started holding classes in the capital, and Michigan State University is to open in Dubai this month. Although it follows an American curriculum, AUS, by contrast, is not a branch of any foreign university. It was founded by Dr Sheikh Sultan bin Mohammed, the Ruler of Sharjah, in 1997. The school's chancellor, Dr Peter Heath, said branch campuses would only be successful if they tailored their operations to the region and built links with their surrounding communities. "I don't know how the experiment is going to turn out, but the private universities that have been successful, whether the American University of Beirut, the American University in Cairo or AUS, have been those that have integrated into the needs of the community. Not the whole community, but at least a segment of it, and feel they are in the Arab world. How would AUS fare if we established a branch in New York? I don't know." Dr Heath, an Arabic scholar who has worked in the West Bank and Beirut, said the branches risked being "ephemeral occurrences" if they did not "establish local roots and relevance". "When you're coming here to give an equivalent education to what you would get in New York or Washington or London or Sydney, it's a high-quality education, but how relevant is it to society here?" said the chancellor, who took up his new job earlier this month. Although it is co-educational, unlike federal universities, AUS describes itself as being "thoroughly grounded in Arab culture" and more than half of its students are Arabs. Prof Zaid Ansari, the acting vice president of George Mason University's Ras al Khaimah campus, which began offering degree courses in 2006, said he agreed "in principle" that foreign institutions must tailor their operations to their local environments. "I agree there needs to be a close co-ordination between what the university offers and what is germane to the community's interests. There are traditional roles universities play in communities in supporting intellectual, social and community-based endeavours." Prof Raed Awamleh, the director of Middlesex University Dubai, a branch of a London institution, said both branches of foreign institutions and indigenous universities had relevance. "Our curriculum and assessment have to be identical because they must equate to graduates in London. That's the appeal. "They [locally based universities] provide a different type of education that is attractive to certain segments. There are a number of different models. It's not one size fits all. "Students make decisions. Some want a British education or maybe an American model. It's [dependent upon] where they want to end up." Dr Mariet Westermann, the vice chancellor of New York University Abu Dhabi, said her institution planned to build strong links with other universities and the community in the UAE since "by definition, universities are open institutions". "To be successful, they have to engage with partner institutions - NYU does this in New York, America and the world." Dr Westermann said the university was developing faculty collaborations with other institutions and inviting Emiratis at state universities to take part in a scholarship programme. "It seems to be the view [within the country's academic community] that having more international scholarly activities in the UAE is a good thing," she said. At Heriot-Watt University, which opened in Dubai International Academic City in 2005 as a branch of the Edinburgh-based institution, applications from undergraduates have increased four-fold in the past year. Ruth Moir, the head of the campus, said this showed foreign universities could be successful if they offered programmes "relevant to the needs and strategic objectives" of the region. She said the university was offering courses that were of "direct relevance within the UAE", adding: "Our students are achieving high standards and our quality assurance processes ensure comparability with our home campus."