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UAE chosen for world varsity ranking launch

His Highness Shaikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice-President and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai, said the UAE is seeking to consolidate a diverse and strong academic environment in the state and strengthen its regional role in attracting the best educational competencies and student talent in order to achieve its goal of building a national economy based on knowledge.

6 UAE varsities among top 400 AL AIN — Six universities in the UAE have been ranked among the best 400 universities, according to the Quacquarelli Symonds (QS) World University Rankings. They are UAE University, Al Ain; American University of Sharjah (AUS); Khalifa University, Abu Dhabi; University of Sharjah; American University in Dubai; and Abu Dhabi University. The QS based its classification on a number of strict requirements, among others, the academic reputation, recruitment and productivity indicators, research, proportion of teaching staff to students, attractiveness of university to professors and foreign students. This classification is based on a global survey of more than 3, 000 international universities, views of more than 50,000 academics and employers along with research indicators. — Staff Report

Shaikh Mohammed made his remarks during a meeting with Ashwin Fernandes, Executive Director of the Quacquarelli Symonds (QS) World University Rankings authority, which has chosen the UAE to launch its annual report for 2014 for the results of the classification of universities worldwide — one of the most important international reports in this area.

Shaikh Mohammed added, “Selection of the UAE to launch one of the most important reports in the World Universities Rankings reflects our ambitions in enhancing the educational competitiveness of the state in particular, and the competitiveness of the Arabic universities in general.

“The upgrade of the classification of universities and the development of research centres and the capacities of educational institutions are the basis to improve our capabilities and to achieve the highest economic benefits from our human resources.”

Shaikh Mohammed reviewed with the Executive Director the results of the New World University Rankings for 2014, and also announced to sponsor the launch of the new report, which is awaited by many universities all over the world.

The rankings prepared by the QS depend on a set of key criteria in the classification of universities such as academic reputation and fame enjoyed by universities with recruitment companies and index productivity of research, the proportion of professors to students and the proportion of the attractiveness of universities for foreign professors and students and other common indicators.

The selection of the UAE to launch this important world report came due to its characteristic of a strong academic environment, where more than 70 universities in the field of higher education including many international universities are operating. The country has also developed many integrated academic cities, which provide an ideal environment for hosting international universities.

The meeting was attended by Shaikh Hamdan bin Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Crown Prince of Dubai and Chairman of the Dubai Executive Council; Shaikh Maktoum bin Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Deputy Ruler of Dubai; Shaikh Hamdan bin Mubarak Al Nahyan, Minister of Higher Education and Scientific Research; and Mohammed bin Abdullah Al Gergawi, Minister for Cabinet Affairs.