Private partnerships and a new focus on research spur post-secondary education

Although the emirate’s post-secondary education sector has already witnessed unprecedented growth in the past decade, universities in Abu Dhabi are still looking to increase student numbers, particularly in the postgraduate segment. The government’s focus on research and innovation has fostered strong expansion of postgraduate programmes and enrolment in recent years, with both Emirati and international students attracted by government and corporate funding, prestigious international branch campuses and other incentives.

At the same time, private universities have seen intense competition for top graduates make expansion of the burgeoning PhD segment more difficult, while overall post-secondary enrolment took a one-off hit in 2014 due to the launch of mandatory military service for male nationals between the ages of 18 and 30. Both the government and private sector have moved to address these challenges, with a number of new programmes and research centres set to come on-line in the near term. Indeed, the emirate should witness a steady expansion of post-graduate enrolment and programmes through to 2030.

Enrolment Growth

Post-secondary enrolment in Abu Dhabi has risen sharply in recent years, according to data from the Ministry of Higher Education and Scientific Research (MOHESR), increasing by 58.6% between 2008 and 2013 from 32,360 to 51,333 students – or 40% of the UAE’s total post-secondary student body. This compares favourably to the rest of the UAE, which saw post-secondary enrolment grow by 49% from 2008 to 2013 to hit 128,279 students by 2013.

Across the UAE, enrolment in PhD programmes has shown even more dramatic growth of more than 1500% between 2008 and 2013, increasing from 32 students in 2008 to 537 in 2013. Abu Dhabi has witnessed similar growth, with PhD enrolment expanding more than five-fold from 48 in 2010 to 252 in 2013.

New Universities

A host of new facilities that opened in the past decade have enabled this dramatic growth. Abu Dhabi University (ADU) established its first campus in Al Ain in 2003 and later opened a second campus in Khalifa City in 2006. The university, which offers 24 undergraduate and 10 post-graduate courses, saw total enrolment reach 5927 during the 2013/14 academic year (of which 971 were post-graduate students), representing year-on-year growth of 88%. Postgraduate enrolment is expected to surge in the coming years, as ADU officials announced plans to open a new post-graduate campus in Dubai by September 2015, which will be located either in Knowledge Village or Dubai International Academic City.

Focus On Research

Masdar Institute of Science and Technology, known as the Masdar Institute, offers nine master of science degrees and an interdisciplinary doctorate degree programme, all with a focus on sustainability at its research-oriented Abu Dhabi campus. Established in collaboration with MIT, Masdar Institute opened its doors in 2009 with 89 students to provide interdisciplinary programmes and research focused on sustainable technology. By the fall of 2014 the total number of enrolled students had reached 491, 44% of which were UAE nationals, with the school anticipating enrolments to rise to around 600-800 students by 2018, attracted by new programme and research offerings.

Masdar Institute has seen enrolment in its PhD programme expand rapidly, growing from around 25 students to 143 by 2014. The institute’s staff and students are involved in innovative research activities, at four institute research centres, launched in January 2014 alongside an overarching innovation research centre, and five sponsored research centres established in partnership with the private sector, with more in the pipeline. The in-house research centres work in a variety of sustainable technology focus areas – namely, innovation, energy, microsystems, smart and sustainable systems, and water and the environment. Research is also being conducted on applications for nano-technology in areas such as energy, food, water and health. Plans include a space-focused research programme, in line with the UAE’s plan to launch an unmanned Mars probe in 2021.

Masdar Institute has also partnered with BP to set up the BP Innovation Scholarships. Selected scholars receive a two-year, fully funded merit-based scholarship to study in any Masdar Institute master’s concentration, during which time they will develop a business plan for a new sustainable technology business. Masdar Institute and the MIT Deshpande Centre offer collaborative research grants aimed at commercialisation.

Zayed University (ZU), the UAE’s third-largest postsecondary institute, is also slated to see post-graduate enrolment expand in the near term. Although combined enrolment at its campuses, including its newest one, which was completed in 2011 on 18.8 ha in Khalifa City and comprising 28 buildings, in Dubai and Abu Dhabi stands at 10,000 students, ZU’s current graduate population is around 600 students, which the administration hopes to increase through the adoption of new research programmes in scientific fields. ZU has three research institutes covering Arabic language, Islamic world studies and social and economic studies, and several research focal areas in business and social studies, international relations, information security, health management, and others. It has partnered with different governmental and international organisations including the Masdar Institute to establish a long-term research programme on the social and behavioural dimensions of the Masdar City project. The Institute for Social and Economic Research, in particular, is expected to respond to requests for applied research relating to a wide range of economic issues, including cost of living, quality of life, the social aspect of economic development and female empowerment.

“Improving research capabilities has a direct link to attracting better faculty researchers, which is one of our aims,” Reyadh Al Mehaideb, vice-president of ZU, told OBG. “We are also currently undergoing a strategic review, in order to make meaningful recommendations on how ZU can better position itself to take the next steps. One major consideration is to look into expanding our programmes to include more sciencebased studies, which is a departure from our current social and economic “liberal arts” focus.”

Hurdles

Although sharp growth in post-secondary education has demonstrated the government’s commitment to the Abu Dhabi Economic Vision 2030 goal of developing a knowledge-based economy, it also reflects an industry still in its nascent stages, as evidenced by the lack of local PhD students in Abu Dhabi prior to 2010, according to MOSEHR. Despite rapid growth in the post-secondary segment, universities continue to face difficulties in increasing enrolment, particularly in fledgling PhD programmes, as a result of fierce competition and lack of research funding. “One of the major challenges for higher education institutions going forward is being able to source students for PhD enrolment,” Tod A Laursen, president of Khalifa University for Science, Technology and Research (KU), told OBG. “Graduate students in engineering are highly sought-after all around the world. As such, local universities are facing stiff competition and are working to develop their international presence.”

More recently, enrolment efforts have been hampered by the introduction of mandatory military service, which saw male enrolment in the 2014/15 academic year drop by up to 30% at some institutions, though this is expected to have only a one-off impact. “It is more of a oneyear dip, and we were able to defer students’ admissions by one year if they are required to complete their military service before attending school. At the same time, military service will assist future students in developing the skills necessary to succeed in a post-secondary career, so it will actually have a positive long-term effect on outcomes,” Jamal Adel Al Sayyed, enrolment manager at the Petroleum Institute (PI), told OBG.

Government Support

The Abu Dhabi government recognises the challenges facing post-secondary expansion and has been actively involved in providing funding and facilitating partnerships with the private sector that will allow universities to foster innovation and increase the employability of their graduates.

“There has been a positive shift from the government in regards to research and development. The country has grown aware of the positive impact of such initiatives. We are hoping to see increasing levels of investment in these activities so that we can begin to compete with developed countries,” Laursen said.

The emirate’s government provides financial support to several private institutions as part of its efforts to increase the level of educational attainment of its citizens. For example, KU, established in 2007, is fully owned and funded by the emirate, enabling free tuition for the majority of students. The university offers bachelor’s degrees in engineering and science, and master’s degrees in electrical, computer and nuclear engineering, in addition to information, international and civil security. KU offers several PhD programmes in engineering, including mechanical, aerospace, nuclear, biomedical and robotics, as well as specialisations in communication, and computer and electronic engineering.

KU is in the midst of a major expansion project that will see its Abu Dhabi campus nearly quadruple in size, from 34,600 to 135,000 sq metres by late 2015. The expansion includes a 500-person auditorium, a new student union with restaurants and recreational facilities, state-of-the-art classrooms and laboratories, and – perhaps most significantly – facilities to house KU’s planned medical school, to be the emirate’s first.

PI offers bachelor’s and master’s programmes in science and engineering, as well as a visiting PhD programme for international students. Extending the opportunities for nationals is a priority for the institute. Funded by the Abu Dhabi National Oil Company (ADNOC), PI was established in 2001 and is attended by nearly 2000 students, of which some 350 are post-graduates and around 15-20% are expatriates. Students receive free education in exchange for a commitment to work at ADNOC for a set number of years after graduation.

“PI intends to expand the number of students to 3500 by 2030. To do so it will have to recruit heavily as it needs all the brightest minds in the country. Therefore, PI will continue to actively seek out with students with high potential,” Abdul Munim Saif Al Kindy, PI’s deputy chairman, told OBG.

Private Partnerships

With the Federal National Council reporting in January 2014 that research funding comprised just 0.15% of MOHESR’s education spending in 2012, partnerships with the private sector have become critical channels for new innovation and growth. PI has partnered with 16 private players, including BP, Royal Dutch Shell, Japan Oil Development Company and Total, while a host of national energy companies are supporting the development of the 8000-sq-metre PI Research Centre, which will focus on hydrocarbons extraction activities when it opens in 2015. The new research centre follows PI’s Gas Processing and Materials Science Research Centre, launched in 2010. “To create a sustainable oil and gas industry we are going to have to find ways to encourage more nationals to gain meaningful employment in the sector. We need to get them into PhD programmes, which specifically focus on developing solutions for the needs of the local market. The construction of the research centre at PI will be a major step forward in this regard,” Al Kindy said. PI plans to open other research centres and explore further collaboration with the private sector.

These private partnerships have allowed PI to pursue atypical research and innovation, such as the institute’s upcoming participation in the inaugural Abu Dhabi Solar Challenge in January 2015, in which groups of students will build a solar-powered car to compete in a 1200-km race against 20 other university teams. “What we are really learning in the solar car project is how to design parts that run more efficiently, be it in a combustible or solar-powered vehicle. Developing these efficient technologies is critical to Abu Dhabi’s long-term energy goals,” Fahah Al Maskari, an assistant professor of mechanical engineering at PI, told OBG.

KU maintains partnerships with over 20 corporations and government bodies, including Etisalat, BT Group, the Federal Authority for Nuclear Regulation, Thales, Dassault Aviation and Exeed Industries, with many actively sponsoring Emirati students enrolled in the university on scholarships. As a result of these partnerships, KU has become a leader in research, patents and publications, with its corporate-sponsored Etisalat-BT Innovation Centre, located at the Abu Dhabi campus, having filed 20 patents since 2009. Recent achievements include those of Mohamed Rezeq, a KU researcher who was granted a US patent for the world’s smallest semiconductor transistor in January 2014.

The university has also moved to expand knowledge exchange in Abu Dhabi, establishing Ankabut – or the Advanced National Research and Education Network – in 2006 in partnership with the emirate’s three federal universities and the ICT Fund. It allows for rapid data transfer between educational institutions, thanks to a submarine connection (see IT chapter). Ankabut also helps to encourage research and innovation in the emirate by providing fast network speeds at low prices, as well as access to research from leading institutions in Europe, the US and Singapore. Through this infrastructure, along with cloud computing and other network services, Ankabut is working to establish Abu Dhabi as a regional hub for research. “We have a subsea connection to New York and transit agreements with internet to connect any academic-related institution in the world,” Fahem Al Nuaimi, Ankabut’s CEO, told OBG. “As a result, academic institutions across the GCC community can interact and share a collective goal of empowering education and research.” Going forward, Ankabut is planning to further extend its network. “Our goal is to implement our network at 100 universities and 420 K-12 schools within the next two years,” Al Nuaimi said.

Masdar Institute has also been working with private sector players, such as BP, Boeing, Etihad Airways, Honeywell and Total, in addition to national and international universities, to sponsor and support activities at its research centres. The institute recently partnered with Singapore’s A*STAR Institute of Microelectronics and GlobalFoundries Singapore, to design and develop new micro-electromechanical systems (MEMS) at the TwinLab. MEMS are tiny sensors that are found in phones, cars and wearable medical devices – for example, smartphones use MEMS to sense when to switch their display from landscape to portrait mode – and each sensor is no larger than a grain of sand. With the global MEMS market expanding from about $3.4bn in 2002 to some $11.7bn in 2013 – and projected to reach $24bn by 2019 – a robust domestic industry would support Economic Vision 2030.

Regulation

As private partnerships increase, the framework that will govern them is important. Abdullah Abonamah, professor of management sciences and president of the Abu Dhabi School of Management, which offers an MBA in partnership with Imperial College of London Business School, told OBG, “ADEC has established a process for the establishment of new higher education institutions. The process is rigorous and transparent; its main purpose is to ensure quality requirements are being met to the highest standard.”