ABU DHABI // A Swedish delegation is visiting academic institutions across the UAE this week to build educational partnerships.
The board of directors of the Swedish Foundation for International Cooperation in Research and Higher Education (Stint), arrived on Sunday to meet officials from eight institutions.
These included NYU Abu Dhabi, Khalifa University of Science, Technology and Research, the Masdar Institute, Paris-Sorbonne University Abu Dhabi and University of Sharjah.
“The most interesting point here is that UAE academic institutions are growing at a very fast pace in terms of their level of higher education,” said Olle Wästberg, chairman of Stint.
“It is probably one of the fastest-growing in the world so it’s very interesting.”
He was speaking between visits to NYU Abu Dhabi and Khalifa University on Monday.
Although the delegation was represented by a group of five Swedish universities, it is a national organisation that works with all universities across the country.
“At NYU Abu Dhabi, we discussed what we call a teacher’s sabbatical which involves sending teachers from Sweden to the UAE to learn more and widen their scope,” he said. “We discussed having that with them and that could happen as soon as this autumn.”
The delegation hopes to build a foundation for cooperation between local and Swedish universities and to offer a range of funding and scholarship programmes.
"We chose the UAE because it's a country that's going towards globalisation in terms of education, which makes it interesting to study," Mr Wästberg said. "We are meeting local universities and imported universities that have established themselves here. It's a crash course in internationalisation that you can see here."
A potential outcome could see Swedish students study in the UAE as part of a scholarship programme. “Education for us is a primary goal but we’re also discussing programmes with scholarships with Swedes that we want to send here in order to learn more,” he said. “We’d like to have a sort of more regular cooperation between universities here and in Sweden and we can be a facilitator for that.”
The delegation has a remaining six institutions to visit across Abu Dhabi, Dubai, Ras Al Khaimah and Sharjah by Friday.
“We can see that there is a lot of development in higher education in the UAE and we know it’s very dynamic here and evolving very quickly,” said Andreas Gothenberg, director of Stint. “We think it’s interesting to look at these developments here as one kind of possible example where higher education might go in the future because it can renew itself with the international players.”
He said that traditionally, universities at home developed in a certain way that was not exposed to such a dynamic environment, where the curriculum could develop at an international level.
Swedish universities have recently struggled to attract foreign students due to the introduction of fees for non-Europeans, with enrolments dropping by 80 per cent, from 8,000 non-European students to 1,600. But Mr Gothenberg said that was not the cause of their visit to the UAE.
“We’re interested into getting even more international students to Sweden because it’s a benefit to us and to partner universities abroad.”
Visiting students and working teachers from Sweden could start arriving in the UAE as early as this autumn.
“There are many different opportunities,” he said. “But if we have programmes where students can do part of their studies in multiple environments, it’s something that’s very good for everyone involved.”
cmalek@thenational.ae
Killing of Qassem Suleimani
Zayed Sustainability Prize
More on Quran memorisation:
What can victims do?
Always use only regulated platforms
Stop all transactions and communication on suspicion
Save all evidence (screenshots, chat logs, transaction IDs)
Report to local authorities
Warn others to prevent further harm
Courtesy: Crystal Intelligence
UPI facts
More than 2.2 million Indian tourists arrived in UAE in 2023
More than 3.5 million Indians reside in UAE
Indian tourists can make purchases in UAE using rupee accounts in India through QR-code-based UPI real-time payment systems
Indian residents in UAE can use their non-resident NRO and NRE accounts held in Indian banks linked to a UAE mobile number for UPI transactions
WHAT IS A BLACK HOLE?
1. Black holes are objects whose gravity is so strong not even light can escape their pull
2. They can be created when massive stars collapse under their own weight
3. Large black holes can also be formed when smaller ones collide and merge
4. The biggest black holes lurk at the centre of many galaxies, including our own
5. Astronomers believe that when the universe was very young, black holes affected how galaxies formed
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F1 The Movie
Starring: Brad Pitt, Damson Idris, Kerry Condon, Javier Bardem
Director: Joseph Kosinski
Rating: 4/5
ELIO
Starring: Yonas Kibreab, Zoe Saldana, Brad Garrett
Directors: Madeline Sharafian, Domee Shi, Adrian Molina
Rating: 4/5
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
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The specs
Engine: Long-range single or dual motor with 200kW or 400kW battery
Transmission: Single-speed automatic
Max touring range: 620km / 590km
Price: From Dh250,000 (estimated)
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How to help
Donate towards food and a flight by transferring money to this registered charity's account.
Account name: Dar Al Ber Society
Account Number: 11 530 734
IBAN: AE 9805 000 000 000 11 530 734
Bank Name: Abu Dhabi Islamic Bank
To ensure that your contribution reaches these people, please send the copy of deposit/transfer receipt to: juhi.khan@daralber.ae
Dark Souls: Remastered
Developer: From Software (remaster by QLOC)
Publisher: Namco Bandai
Price: Dh199
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ESSENTIALS
The flights
Emirates flies from Dubai to Phnom Penh via Yangon from Dh2,700 return including taxes. Cambodia Bayon Airlines and Cambodia Angkor Air offer return flights from Phnom Penh to Siem Reap from Dh250 return including taxes. The flight takes about 45 minutes.
The hotels
Rooms at the Raffles Le Royal in Phnom Penh cost from $225 (Dh826) per night including taxes. Rooms at the Grand Hotel d'Angkor cost from $261 (Dh960) per night including taxes.
The tours
A cyclo architecture tour of Phnom Penh costs from $20 (Dh75) per person for about three hours, with Khmer Architecture Tours. Tailor-made tours of all of Cambodia, or sites like Angkor alone, can be arranged by About Asia Travel. Emirates Holidays also offers packages.
Winners
Best Men's Player of the Year: Kylian Mbappe (PSG)
Maradona Award for Best Goal Scorer of the Year: Robert Lewandowski (Bayern Munich)
TikTok Fans’ Player of the Year: Robert Lewandowski
Top Goal Scorer of All Time: Cristiano Ronaldo (Manchester United)
Best Women's Player of the Year: Alexia Putellas (Barcelona)
Best Men's Club of the Year: Chelsea
Best Women's Club of the Year: Barcelona
Best Defender of the Year: Leonardo Bonucci (Juventus/Italy)
Best Goalkeeper of the Year: Gianluigi Donnarumma (PSG/Italy)
Best Coach of the Year: Roberto Mancini (Italy)
Best National Team of the Year: Italy
Best Agent of the Year: Federico Pastorello
Best Sporting Director of the Year: Txiki Begiristain (Manchester City)
Player Career Award: Ronaldinho
PAKISTAN SQUAD
Abid Ali, Fakhar Zaman, Imam-ul-Haq, Shan Masood, Azhar Ali (test captain), Babar Azam (T20 captain), Asad Shafiq, Fawad Alam, Haider Ali, Iftikhar Ahmad, Khushdil Shah, Mohammad Hafeez, Shoaib Malik, Mohammad Rizwan (wicketkeeper), Sarfaraz Ahmed (wicketkeeper), Faheem Ashraf, Haris Rauf, Imran Khan, Mohammad Abbas, Mohammad Hasnain, Naseem Shah, Shaheen Afridi, Sohail Khan, Usman Shinwari, Wahab Riaz, Imad Wasim, Kashif Bhatti, Shadab Khan and Yasir Shah.
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EA Sports FC 25
Developer: EA Vancouver, EA Romania
Publisher: EA Sports
Consoles: Nintendo Switch, PlayStation 4&5, Xbox One and Xbox Series X/S
Rating: 3.5/5
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
