PARTNERSHIPS BETWEEN DEVELOPED AND DEVELOPING COUNTRIES

1
PARTNERSHIPS BETWEEN DEVELOPED AND DEVELOPING
COUNTRIES

• Russel C. Jones
• Advisor
• Khalifa University of Science, Technology and
  Research

2
DRIVING FORCES FOR DEVELOPING COUNTRIES

• Developing countries rich and poor alike want
  to evolve from resource based or agricultural
  economies to knowledge based economies
• They see the beneficial results of technological
  developments in such developed countries as South
  Korea and the United States, which have used
  their knowledge based strengths to foster
  substantial economic development
• The basis for development of a knowledge based
  economy must be effective education local human
  capacity built through education and training of
  bright young people to work at the
  state-of-the-art of the current global economy
• Engineering education is an effective vehicle for
  building such an economy

3
DRIVING FORCES FOR UNIVERSITIES IN DEVELOPED
COUNTRIES

• The flow of international students to the United
  States and other developed countries has
  decreased
• After the 911 terrorist attacks, the flow of
  Middle East students to the US reduced
  substantially
• concern about how their Muslim religion and
  Arabic culture would be received
• Visa processes became more lengthy and difficult
• In several countries such as China and India,
  rapid development of local educational
  opportunities is allowing students to stay at
  home

4
EDUCATIONAL PARTNERSHIPS IN THE MIDDLE EAST

• These factors have influenced the interest of US
  universities in developing programs in the Middle
  East
• Several developing countries with extensive
  wealth from natural resources, such as the
  oil-rich countries of the Middle East, are
  aggressively pursuing diversification of their
  economies
• They recognize that the world plans to buy less
  oil
• They are using current income from oil and gas
  sales to invest in high tech commercial
  developments
• Many US universities legitimately wanted to
  broaden their international activities, and the
  interest by oil-rich countries to upgrade and
  expand their educational programs has
  appropriately led to many partnerships.

5
TYPES OF PARTNERSHIPS

• Partnerships between universities in developing
  and developed countries may take several forms
• branch campuses in foreign countries, offering at
  least a portion of the programs there that are
  offered on the home campus
• a partnership relationship between a local
  university in a developing country and one in a
  developed country
• distance education is yet another model albeit
  less effective in providing an immersive
  developed country education
• consulting advice to foreign universities or
  governments on how to develop educational
  programs in the developed country model

6
US ENGINEERING PROGRAMS IN THE MIDDLE EAST

• QATAR Education City in Doha
• Texas AM University at Qatar (undergraduate
  programs in chemical, electrical, mechanical and
  petroleum engineering masters degrees starting)
• Carnegie Mellon Qatar (undergraduate programs in
  computer science, business administration, and
  information systems)
• SAUDI ARABIA KAUST
• King Abdullah University of Science and
  technology being built, with degrees in 11
  engineering and science areas
• Collaborations with Woods Hole Oceanographic
  Institution, University of California at San
  Diego, Cornell University, Stanford University,
  and with faculty members at several more US
  universities.

7
MORE US ENGINEERING PROGRAMS IN THE REGION

• UNITED ARAB EMIRATES DUBAI
• Michigan State University Dubai (bachelors
  degree programs in computer engineering and
  construction project management graduate degree
  program in supply chain management)
• Rochester Institute of Technology Dubai (masters
  degree programs in electrical engineering,
  mechanical engineering, and networking and
  systems administration)

8
MORE US ENGINEERING PROGRAMS IN THE REGION

• UNITED ARAB EMIRATES ABU DHABI
• Petroleum Institute (initiated with major
  assistance from Colorado School of Mines offers
  bachelors degrees in areas of interest to the
  oil and gas industries)
• New York Institute of Science and Technology
  (bachelors and masters degree programs in
  computer science and information technology)
• Masdar Institute of Science and Technology
  (graduate programs in alternative energy fields,
  being developed in collaboration with MIT)
• Khalifa University of Science, Technology and
  Research (currently developing partnerships with
  US universities)
• New York University establishing international
  duplicate campus including engineering programs

9
ISSUES WITH BRANCH CAMPUSES IN THE MIDDLE EAST

• LOWER THAN PLANNED ENROLLMENTS
• (George Mason University branch at Ras al Khaymah
  has collapsed)
• ACCREDITATION
• (home campus, local)
• FACULTY STAFFING
• (home campus faculty members to assure quality)
• ATTRACTION OF LOCAL NATIVE STUDENTS
• (many below admission levels sought)

10
BENEFITS TO DEVELOPING COUNTRIES

• The presence of developed country higher
  education programs benefits the developing
  country
• by building local capacity and education
  infrastructure
• reducing the outflow of domestic students, with
  the associated financial and brain drain
• attracting foreign students who can contribute to
  intellectual richness and may stay on as skilled
  immigrants
• and transferring of foreign models of research,
  teaching and administration

11
CONCLUSIONS

• US UNIVERSITIES ARE RESPONDING TO NEEDS OF
  OIL-RICH COUNTRIES
• Human capacity building for new directions in
  Middle East countries
• International experience, and new income source,
  for US universities
• MANY POSITIVE ASPECTS, MANY WHERE JURY IS STILL
  OUT
• Correlation between market needs and programs
  offered
• Adequate numbers of native students of
  appropriate quality
• Who has authority over what

12

• Thank you
• rcjonespe_at_aol.com