The British University in Dubai has received approval from the Ministry of Higher Education and Scientific Research, to re-structure the modules of its Masters programmes, thus slashing its time span.

BUiD’s postgraduate programmes, which have often taken over two years to complete on a part-time basis, is much longer compared to other leading universities in the UAE.

But now with the new approval, students of the September 2011 intake can complete taught modules within two years on part time basis.

The decision for change was based upon feedback received from its students, most of who are also working in demanding jobs and are challenged by the duration of the programmes.

BUiD has enhanced its programme by removing over lapse of content in the academic programmes. Prof Abdullah Alshamsi said: “The revised, more-focused structure of BUiD’s Masters Courses should now encourage more and more working professionals to enroll for research-based degrees as the duration is one of the key deciding factors for students. Students can now complete their research-based Masters in similar time-frame to a taught Masters.”

BUiD is one of few universities to offer research intensive programmes where students not only involve themselves in research projects during the taught modules, but also undertake a 60 credit research- intensive dissertation, is equivalent to one-third of the programme content.

Students can now finish the taught element in nine months and then progress on their research, all thanks to the new structure.

BUiD is now working a trimester system which will also allow students more flexibility. The re-structure will cover the ten different masters as well as PG diplomas in the three faculties of the university namely education, engineering and IT, and business.

Prof Ashly Pinnington, dean of the Faculty of Business said: “The new structure for the M Sc in Human Resource Management is mapped to the UK Chartered Institute of Personnel & Development (CIPD) Advanced Diploma in HRM. BUiD's M Sc in HRM is designed for people wanting to develop advanced knowledge and skills relating to HR management. It is a well-known Masters qualification and the modules are compatible with CIPD Diploma level examinations.”

Classes start on the September 17 for all programmes across the university. New e-resources databases have been added to the learning resources within the university to provide academics and students access to advanced academic content for teaching and research. – TradeArabia News Service