College scholarships get fatter in UAE

Students at the open library of Michigan State University, Academic City, Dubai.  —KT file photo

The financial value of education scholarships is growing in size across the UAE universities, according to top officials at higher education institutions. With exam results for Indian curriculum schools announced last week, universities are hoping to attract top students with bigger scholarships.

“The higher education market is becoming increasingly competitive. Everyone is competing to attract top students — as is the case globally. In Dubai, many universities are now giving an increasing number of academic scholarships, along with material incentives,” said Professor Mohammed Salem, President University of Wollongong in Dubai (UOWD).

Top universities compete to get the best students by offering big discounts in the form of cash rebates.

“We give merit scholarships to the most intelligent students because they add immense value to a classroom environment. We believe that achievement isn’t related to wealth and the cost of sending a child to university can be prohibitive for some families.  It is our hope that by helping to relieve the financial burden, the most gifted students will be able to enrol in our programmes and gain a quality education from one of the UAE’s oldest accredited universities,” added Prof. Salem.

While there are no clear estimates of the overall value of scholarships provided by education institutions in the UAE, most universities announce special discounts for achievers in sports and academics.

“Along with the financial benefits, merit scholarships also offer their recipients a high degree of prestige as gaining them is a competitive process. Furthermore, it gives them an extra incentive to work hard throughout the course of their degree programme because they must continue to perform outstandingly for the duration of their time at UOWD in order to maintain the scholarship.”

In the spring semester, more than 50 students have benefited from a fund of Dh1.56 million, with scholarships ranging between five and 50 per cent of their tuition fees. The scholarship and bursary fund is set to be even bigger for this autumn’s intake.

“We’ve taken great pride in celebrating our students’ achievements since the university was established in 1993, and it’s very much within our tradition to offer different levels of scholarships to high achieving students, along with rewarding the best sports people and offering financial aid grants too. We want to support high-achieving students in any way we can.”

At the Amity University in Dubai, special scholarships for Emirati students and girls are already making a difference.

Speaking with Khaleej Times, Vajahat Hussain, CEO of Amity Education, Middle East said: “Every good institution creates a corpus for scholarships once they have surplus. Amity is different. At our inception four years back we started supporting merit from day 1. For our alignment with the national agenda of UAE we subsidise education for Emirati and girl students as well. Our Foundation wants us to become a responsible pillar of the community and strive to make this nation a knowledge economy.”

He further added that the varsity was willing to go the extra mile for Emirati students interested in niche course offerings.  “We wish that Emirati student enrolment increases and are prepared to subsidise their entry into the niche programmes offered by Amity that are aligned to the national agenda and the vision of the UAE leadership. Our relocation to our permanent campus by year end is expected to generate interest in this,” he added.

The university has announced 100 scholarships for 2015 academic year, with up to 100 per cent fee waiver for merit students.

“Higher education can be an expensive proposition if top students pursue it abroad where the living component is sometimes higher than the fee. Scholarships become a factor in retaining the student in the UAE where they would benefit from a quality education, industry internships and finally jobs in this vibrant market. Add to that a family support system if the students family are residents,” said Vajahat.

At the American University in Dubai (AUD), the governing board recently approved Dh32million in scholarships for the upcoming academic year.

“On behalf of the AUD Governing Board, we are extremely pleased to announce that over Dh32million of academic scholarships will be awarded this coming year to attract and provide for students from around the world to attend our university,” announced Dr Stephen Franklin, Chairman of the AUD Governing Board.

For students seeking admission, early-enrolment discounts and bigger scholarships represent more options to study at affordable prices. -muaz@khaleejtimes.com