Friday, April 12, 2002

United Arab Emirates Plan a Virtual University Focusing on Petroleum By DANIEL DEL CASTILLO Officials in the United Arab Emirates have announced plans to establish a virtual university focusing on the petroleum industry. Abu Dhabi Petroleum University is slated to begin its academic semester on August 31 with an initial class of around 25 students. On April 24, the university will begin accepting its first students for its master's program in petroleum engineering. Two additional graduate programs will also be announced on that date as an aggressive promotional campaign begins. The university will operate entirely online. Students are expected to take three semesters to finish their graduate programs, which are geared toward professionals who are already working in the petroleum-services industry. "We are getting a lot of interest in the program from individuals within the region," said Tayeb Kamali, the university's director. "A large percentage of our students, about 70 percent, will be employed, so our program is designed to help them compete and increase their chances for advancement and promotion." Faculty members will largely be Americans or Britons who will design materials for downloading and interact with students via the Internet. Although the university is likely to draw most of its students from the region, anyone anywhere in the world is eligible to apply. The university is contracting with a number of international institutions for expertise and experience. Despite possessing the vast majority of the world's known fossil fuels, the Persian Gulf region has few specialized institutions for the study of petroleum. The new virtual university's main competition is the King Fahd University of Petroleum and Minerals, in Saudi Arabia. Mr. Kamali, though, sees a world of difference between the two institutions, beyond the obvious virtual-traditional divide. "Our programs are based on the practical aspects of petroleum engineering," Mr. Kamali said. "We intend to focus more on new technology and applications -- this is not a theory-based program." Easy-to-print version E-mail this article

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