Postcard from Dubai: Reflections on a year in Dubai

University of Wollongong in Dubai President PROFESSOR ROB WHELAN recently completed his first year in the job. Here Professor Whelan reflects on the past 12 months and talks about plans for the future.

As anyone who has been to Dubai well knows, it is like nowhere else on earth. Exciting, exotic, dynamic, challenging, hospitable and endlessly fascinating are descriptions that spring to mind – so I consider myself privileged to have the opportunity to lead an organisation that has been able to make a significant mark in such a place.

I started my “cultural and environmental training” in Dubai when I arrived in late summer 2008 at the start of Ramadan. Dr Tayeb Kamali, the Vice- Chancellor of the Higher Colleges of Technology, invited me to Sheikh Nahayan’s Iftar (breaking of the fast) and “Ramadan Tent”. It was a great education in Emirati hospitality and etiquette, and the perfect start to my time here. It didn’t take long to appreciate the extent of UOWD’s reach in the United Arab Emirates. Having made appointments to meet key figures in Dubai government agencies, I was amazed to meet UOWD graduates everywhere. I was regularly introduced to people who said: “I’m one of yours!”

With more knowledge of the University now, it’s hardly surprising, because we have more than 700 Emirati alumni in Dubai and Abu Dhabi. It is gratifying to hear the pride with which they announce their UOWD connections.

My first year - UOWD’s 16th - has been exciting and productive. We have restructured the previous undergraduate and postgraduate college system to create three Faculties – Finance and Accounting, Business and Management, and Computer Science and Engineering – each with undergraduate and postgraduate programs. The structure is working well, under the guidance of new Vice-President (Academic) Professor Mohamed Khalifa and the three Deans – Dr David van Over (Business and Management), Dr Mohamad Salem (Computer Science and Engineering) and Dr Michael Willemyns (Finance and Accounting). We have also reviewed the governance structures, reconstructed the Academic Board, which is responsible for academic issues, and created a new Office for Institutional Effectiveness, which has responsibilities for planning, policy, governance and institutional data and statistics.

Over the past year we have had the chance to honour some great contributors to UOWD. Last November we celebrated UOWD’s 15th anniversary, and honoured Dr Jim Langridge for his pivotal role in the institution’s establishment and development.

At our graduation ceremony in June this year, at which we conferred 284 degrees, taking us to 3700 graduates, we awarded an honorary doctorate to the Minister for Higher Education and Scientific Research Sheikh Nahayan Mabarek al Nahayan in recognition of his outstanding service to higher education and scientific research in the region. Sheikh Nahayan delivered the graduation address at the ceremony, also attended by Australia’s Ambassador to the UAE Jeremy Bruer, who has been a great supporter of what we are doing in the Emirates.

At the June graduation we also farewelled a great supporter in Chancellor Michael Codd AC, as that was his final graduation in Dubai before the end of his term as Chancellor.

One of my aims when I took this role was to increase UOWD’s focus on research, so I was pleased when staff submitted 16 grant proposals to the newly formed National Research Foundation. Thirty-eight percent of our applications made it through the expression of interest phase and are now out for international review – a far better “progression rate” than the national average. My fingers are crossed for the final outcome in November.

In May we submitted proposals to the UAE Commission for Academic Accreditation in the Ministry for Higher Education to run a PhD program and a Doctor of Business Administration. If successful, these doctoral programs will establish us as a leading research-and- teaching university in the region. We already have our first Doctoral graduate - Sheikh Nahayan!

In May we launched a Study Abroad program which allows students from all over the world to study at UOWD for a full semester, combining academic study with Arabic language and culture classes and UAE history.

A key to our success is the support we receive from a strong network of partner organisations, including:

Dubai International Academic City and Knowledge Village, through Executive Director Dr Ayoub Kazim;
Dubai government agencies, especially the Department of Financial Audit (through their Director-General Yaser Amiri);
the Dubai Quality Group (through their Chairman Dr Wafi Dawood) who have been very helpful in establishing one of our flagship Masters programs – the Master of Quality Management;
Australian Education International, through its UAE representative Steve Garrett;
and many other UAE businesses and industries, who provide work experience for students and staff as guest lecturers and adjunct (part- time) staff.

We are also in the fortunate position of being able to tap into the considerable resources of the University of Wollongong. Professors Joe Chicharo, John Patterson and Rob Castle and the Deans have been particularly cooperative and helpful in my first year in the job. ITC has also provided strong support, through the new CEO, Vince Lendrum.

With a set of good structures now in place, we are starting to plan for the future. Two key priorities are to secure a long-term location for a campus and to broaden the University’s offerings to make it into a more comprehensive institution.

We want to go beyond the current course offerings in finance, accounting, IT, business and management – and we are exploring opportunities in health, education, social science and journalism

Last reviewed: 21 October, 2009