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Ways to enhance academic excellence of ZU discussed

ABU DHABI - The Executive Council at Zayed University (ZU) has held its first meeting marking the start of the new academic year 2006-2007 and to review plans and programmes set for students for the upcoming scholastic year.

The meeting, held at the university campus in Abu Dhabi on Tuesday, was attended by Shaikh Nahyan bin Mubarak Al Nahyan, Minister of Higher Education and Scientific Research, Dr Sulaiman Al Jassim, ZU Vice-President and the University Provost, Dr Larry Wilson, along with the deans and ZU officials.

During the meeting, the university’s vision was reiterated. The need to enhance and sustain ZU’s reputation for academic excellence in the region at large and the UAE in particular was also discussed. Shaikh Nahyan reviewed the academic curriculum prepared by the university and provided valuable guidelines and inputs.

The participants also discussed teaching practices at ZU and how to improve them with new and more innovative techniques.

Another area of deliberation revolved around the importance of setting priorities related to the academic programmes and curricula in accordance with the UAE local job market in order to best serve the UAE society.

Shaikh Nahyan exhorted the council members to continue inculcating the desire for life-long learning in the students and encourage them to be satisfied with their accomplishments.

Eliminating the factor of fear could help students to learn without being afraid of making mistakes and encourage them to try to master new areas of learning, Shaikh Nahyan added.

The second meeting of the ZU Executive Council will be held within two weeks to continue maping out the vision of the university for the new academic year under the chairmanship of leading U.S. Educator, Dr David Brown, a former Chancellor at the University of North Carolina at Asheville and current Dean of the International Center for Computer Enhanced Learning at Wake Forest University.

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