Degree-level study is much more than simply gaining a top-notch qualification and a string of letters after your name. Indeed, the strength of college courses run by a variety of academic institutions across the world, from the notable American University of Sharjah in the United Arab Emirates, for example, to the undergraduate programs offered by Northwestern University in America’s Midwest, is best summed up by the one word, transition.For a degree qualification, if nothing else, represents a stepping stone on the
journey marking a young person’s progression from one of dependency on immediate family and surrounding community to independent-thinking member of wider society. At least, surely, that’s the hope.Catalyst Education within the United Arab Emirates (U.A.E) is as powerful a catalyst for change as it is in the United States. The U.A.E’s largest city, Dubai, has been at the forefront, helped in no small measure by the establishment in 2007 of the world’s largest free zone dedicated to higher education.The free zone, Dubai International Academic City, or DIAC, part of TECOM Investments, aims to develop the region’s talent pool and establish the U.A.E as a knowledge-based economy. It is the premier destination for higher education in the region, located on a fully-appointed 18 million sq ft. campus with state-of-the-art modern facilities. DIAC currently has a large selection of multi-tiered international branch campuses from 10 different nationalities and is host to a community of over 20,000 students from 125 nationalities who have access to over 400 higher education programs. TECOM Investments, a member of Dubai Holding, is a real estate master developer and operator of Dubai’s leading business parks. It operates 11 free zone and non-free zone parks representing Dubai’s key industry sectors, making a significant contribution to the emirate’s GDP and future growth.International students According to data from the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD), something like five million international students are likely to be studying for degrees outside their own countries this year, a figure that is expected to grow. Since 2000, 2.1 million students left home to enroll in a foreign college or university. Today the number has increased by 140%, an average of 10% every year, says the OECD. Mean-while, a dozen miles north of downtown Chicago lies the suburban city of Evanston, Ill., the home of Northwestern University. The university, which was founded in 1851, is home to more than 8,000 full-time undergraduates and 8,000 full-time graduate students. Including part-time students, the university’s total enrollment is approximately 21,000. Its faculty of 3,820 full-time members includes a Nobel Prize laureate, Tony Award Winners, MacArthur Fellowship winners and more.Performance indicators The Times Higher Education World University Rankings, which uses 13 separate performance indicators to judge world class universities against all their core missions, including research, knowledge transfer, international outlook and teaching environment, lists Northwestern University amongst the top 30 universities globally, a not inconsiderable achievement.But it doesn’t stop there. In 2009, Forbes named Northwestern University as the best college in the Midwest, ahead of the University of Chicago in second place. The two prestigious universities, however, also come with hefty price tags, with total costs, including tuition, room and board, books, fees and other expenses, above $50,000.
