The British University in Dubai (BUiD), UAE’s first research based university, recently sent a group of its students to one of its UK associates, the University of Manchester, to get acquainted with the latest project management practices.

Eight M Sc Project management students comprising of six UAE nationals and two expats, were on a one week visit to adapt best research practices, access latest research content and explore common research interests and collaborative projects between the universities.

“Universities in UAE offer a wide range of taught programmes, which give students the skills and knowledge to contribute to current business set up but in order to innovate and provide new and better solutions to businesses Universities must encourage students to build on their research skills, and prepare them to apply these skills in real work scenario,” said Prof Abdullah Alshamsi, vice-chancellor at BUiD.

“Our students’ interaction with faculty and staff during these visits gives them an opportunity to bring them abreast of current research at these long established, strongly academic universities and also to find out the latest trends and thinking relevant to their field,” he added.

Mohammed Zafar, team leader of this PM group, said: “The visit gave us an opportunity to interact with academics, professional communities and students at Manchester and we gained an international perspective.”

The students attended lectures on key topics in project management at Manchester such as risk and risk management, people and human factors by Dr Paul Gilbert, head of programme for MSc in project management at BUiD.

“The students’ trip to University of Manchester has helped in the cultural and academic development of the Masters students and they have benefitted from an increased global network of academic peers in their discipline,” said Dr Gilbert. – TradeArabia News Service