DUBAI // Three universities were able to shine on an international stage this year when the Times Higher Education released its first ever rankings for the Middle East and North Africa region.
The country’s oldest university, UAE University, was 11th, American University of Sharjah 17th and Petroleum Institute in Abu Dhabi 20th in the list of 30, released in February.
It was the first time a rankings system focused on the region, allowing those that had previously been illegible to qualify for world rankings to stand out according to the criteria. The full list will be released next year.
This year was also a positive one for students. Statistics showed that the number of high school pupils with sufficient English skills to go straight into university had risen by 13 times to almost 5,000 in the last 12 years.
Applicants must sit Common Educational Proficiency Assessment tests and those who score 180 and above qualify for entry without a remedial course. Success rates have risen to 29 per cent of the population this year from 11 per cent in 2010.
In Dubai, universities set up a committee to bring about more collaboration between the country’s institutions.
With limited funding for research, universities must collaborate if they are to help boost innovation.
The Research Steering Committee has been given the blessing of the emirate’s education regulator, the Knowledge and Human Development Authority, although the initiatives will be run by the institutions themselves.
Meanwhile, in Abu Dhabi, Khalifa University launched the country’s first space lab. With a Mars mission in the pipeline, the university is leading the way in space science.
Prof Tod Laursen, president of the university, said: “With the space lab and other efforts, we seek to make our expertise in space applications even more intense, in view of the UAE’s planned Mars mission and other important initiatives foreseen in space technology.
“The space lab will offer us the capability to study the motion control of space structures such as satellites, orbital vehicles and the like, and do important testing of algorithms and hardware associated with design and operations of these.
“Our plan is to engage our students in important project work that will ultimately lead to an ability to work in the design and implementation of future space projects.”
mswan@thenational.ae
Read more on the UAE’s developments in 2015 in:
› Health: Strides towards compulsory health insurance for all
› Education: A shift towards the sciences
