The Michigan State University Dubai campus welcomed its first batch of undergraduate and graduate students for the 2008 fall semester at its new facility in Dubai International Academic City, a member of TECOM Investments. The MSU faculty will commence undergraduate programmes and research in computer engineering, construction project management, early childhood education, telecommunications and media management, and youth development.




Post graduate degrees in human resources management, retailing, and education technology and executive development, as well as professional certificate programmes will also be offered. All courses will be gradually phased-in throughout the 2008-09 academic year and beyond.




Dr Ayoub Kazim, Executive Director, Dubai International Academic City and Dubai Knowledge Village, said: “Dubai International Academic City would like to congratulate and welcome the first batch of students who have successfully met the stringent admission requirements set by the Michigan State University in Dubai. We assure them their learning experience will be both rewarding, developing in them the discipline and competency to become lifelong learners in today’s information-driven societies.




“MSU Dubai brings with it an academic heritage of more than 150 years. With its offering of world-class education, research and teaching opportunities, we are confident the premier institution will reflect our mission to create and sustain a knowledge-based economy in the Arab region.”




Dr Brendan Mullan, Executive Director of MSU Dubai and a 20-year faculty member and senior administrator at MSU, said: “MSU Dubai will provide undergraduates with a broad intellectual background that will inculcate in them the habit of thought and analysis that is crucial in a rapidly-changing modern world.




“MSU Dubai will also offer courses in the humanities, natural sciences, and social sciences that examine the rich historical, cultural, and scientific heritage of the Gulf region.”




Dr Kim Wilcox, MSU Provost and Vice President for Academic Affairs, and Dr John Hudzik, MSU Vice President for Global Engagement, addressed the students at the opening.




Reiterating MSU’s institutional commitment to Dubai, Dr Hudzik said: “We will continue to expand and strengthen high quality program offerings over the years. MSU’s excellent new campus buildings and facilities at Dubai International Academic City, along with our outstanding faculty, have attracted a high caliber student enrolment response as anticipated for the very first year of operations here in Dubai.”




MSU Dubai students will also fulfill MSU’s integrative studies requirements in physics, biology, arts and humanities, and social science as well as in English writing and mathematics.




Mullan added: “Our entire curriculum, taken as a whole, not only prepares students for future careers and professions but will also develop critical thinking skills necessary to appreciate objective analysis, apply theory and concepts to solve problems, use evidence, and to apply the scientific method for the improvement of the human condition.”




MSU Dubai faculty hold doctoral and other appropriate advanced degrees in their area of expertise, and are teachers, scholars, and researchers from Michigan State University academic departments. Appointed in the home academic departments at Michigan State University East Lansing, the faculty will extend their knowledge and expertise to local, national, and regional constituencies and communities.




MSU Dubai, a non-profit US higher education institution, promotes world-class research, teaching and scholarship. Licensed by Knowledge and Human Development Authority (KHDA), a Dubai Government education authority, MSU Dubai’s degrees and certificates are recognized internationally.




MSU Dubai replicates the campus atmosphere and the level of academic and student support that is an established tradition on the main campus in East Lansing. MSU Dubai is comprehensively connected with and integrated to the main MSU campus, giving Dubai students opportunities to enrich their academic and student life experiences through MSU main campus resources.




MSU was ranked 83rd worldwide in a recent survey by the Shanghai Jiao Tong University. It is also rated among the top 200 universities in the Times Higher Education (THE) - QS World University rankings.