CampusFrance, a French Government agency which promotes French higher education abroad, will take part at a major career fair in Abu Dhabi aiming to boost ties with UAE universities participating at the event.

Najah education and careers fair is taking place at Abu Dhabi National Exhibition Centre (ADNEC) from October 18 to 20.

Since opening an Abu Dhabi office earlier this year, CampusFrance has been working with UAE universities in order to build long-term educational partnerships.

“The quality of French education is highly regarded as among the best in the world,” said Claire Bertolotti, head of CampusFrance in Abu Dhabi.

“Grenoble, HEC Paris, ESSEC Business School, and ESCP Europe are all French universities which sit in the Financial Times’ top ten business schools in the world.”

The exhibition offers higher education and career advice to the thousands of school-leavers deciding the next step in their educational aspirations.

“A French degree opens up the possibility to work in one of the many French companies operating across the world,” added Bertolotti.

France is the second most popular European destination for UAE exchange students, with 110 UAE-based students transferring to the country since CampusFrance set up their permanent office in Abu Dhabi.

Along with Australia, Canada, Germany, US and the UK, France attracts more than half the world’s foreign students and was the third most popular destination country for international students in 2010.

The growing educational ties between the UAE and France also reflect the upward business and commerce growth between the two countries.

There are currently 288 French companies established in the UAE, an increase of 26 per cent over the last five years, while Emirati investment in France has increased by 425 per cent over the same period, from $1.2 billion in 2005 to $6.3 billion in 2010.

Bertolotti added that 60 per cent of UAE students who study in France do so at master’s level, the most popular areas being law, health sciences, international relations, and business. More than 600 doctorate and masters programmes are taught in English.

UAE students at the Higher Colleges of Technology (HCT) now have the opportunity to study a Doctorate of Business Administration (DBA) at Paris-based Grenoble Business School, due to a partnership agreement between the two institutions, she said.

“Master and doctorate programmes are not yet fully available in the UAE and they don’t cover all disciplines.  In France, however, doctorate programmes are numerous; there are more than 75,000 PhD students in France, 40 per cent of whom are overseas students,” Bertolotti added.

A new addition for Najah 2011 are the dedicated career workshops, where industry professionals will address visitors with information and inspiration to help them make better decisions on their education or career path. – TradeArabia News Service