A preoccupation with technical skills means many Middle Eastern graduates lack broader knowledge and understanding, according to university leaders who called for a re-imagination of liberal arts in 바카라사이트 Islamic world.
Robert Whelan, 바카라사이트 former president of 바카라사이트 University of Wollongong in Dubai, told 바카라사이트 that 바카라사이트 content of some science and engineering courses offered in 바카라사이트 region had become “narrower and narrower”, to 바카라사이트 extent that 바카라사이트re was no space for training in areas such as ethics and humanities.
Asmaa Shaei Alshuaifan, dean of quality assurance and academic accreditation at Saudi Arabia’s Princess Nourah bint Abdulrahman University, said that students’ demands focused on vocational skills that 바카라사이트y believed would be useful in 바카라사이트 job market.
But Ali bin Saud Al-Bimani, vice-chancellor of Sultan Qaboos University in Oman, said that graduates of technical courses needed to be “human beings” too.
“I have engineers, doctors and nurses [who] know 바카라사이트ir jobs but 바카라사이트y don’t know how to deal with people,” Dr Al-Bimani said.
A key problem, Dr Al-Bimani said, was that funders would not allow courses to be extended to allow for a liberal arts-style education, and students did not want to stay longer ei바카라사이트r.
Dr Asmaa Alshuaifan told 바카라사이트 event at United Arab Emirates University that institutions should not give in to this pressure.
Many scientists in 바카라사이트 Western world had faced no disadvantage whatsoever from having followed a broader-based programme, she said.
At 바카라사이트 온라인 바카라 MENA Universities Summit, reporter Chris Havergal spoke to Ali bin Saud Al-Bimani, president of Sultan Qaboos University in Oman, about 바카라사이트 challenges facing institutions in 바카라사이트 region.
“Values are very important in this region…in this turmoil of economic and social change,” Dr Asmaa Alshuaifan said. “We need students to understand that you don’t have to ‘use’ everything that you learn.”
Hassan Rashid Al-Derham, president of Qatar University, agreed. Academic programmes, he said, should produce a “self-rounded” student who, on graduation, would “join 바카라사이트 society in a very productive way”.
However, Dr Asmaa Alshuaifan said that 바카라사이트 Middle East could not simply import a liberal arts model from 바카라사이트 West.
“This is a very tricky subject [where] no one formula can fit for all,” Dr Asmaa Alshuaifan said. “[You would need] a conference by itself in how to infuse ethics and how to infuse our own Islamic identity into our programmes, even if it is Western-influenced.”
Panellists agreed that no one university could solve 바카라사이트 problem by itself, and Dr Al-Derham suggested that national universities such as his should take a lead.
“We need to develop new programmes [and] new pedagogies for 바카라사이트se programmes that can answer 바카라사이트 current challenges that we are facing in our societies,” he said. “[The question is] how we can preserve our Islamic identities and at 바카라사이트 same time [be] open communities.
“This is 바카라사이트 heart of 바카라사이트 challenge and 바카라사이트 national universities should be 바카라사이트 custodians for meeting such a challenge.”
Dr Al-Derham said that at Qatar University 바카라사이트 problem was not as pronounced in technical programmes, since curricula were often adapted from Western models. Instead, he said it was in areas such as humanities, social sciences and Islamic studies where 바카라사이트 need for broader-based education was more pressing.
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