A team from Ajman University of Science & Technology (AUST) has visited the Arabic Language Department at the College of Eastern Languages of the University of Shanghai International Studies in Shanghai, China.

The visit resulted in the establishment of a number of new initiatives, including student exchanges, a visiting professor program, research collaboration, conference participation and cooperation with the Chinese Federation for Teachers of Arabic.

The Ajman team included Professor Mohammed Radwan Al Daya and Professor Abdul Mounim Balla, who met with Shanghai academics including Professor Yan Ting-guo (Mahdi), Dean, College of Eastern Languages, and Dr. Wang Guangda (Mahfouz), Vice Dean. Dr. Yan presented an introduction to the Shanghai University of International Studies and the College of Eastern Languages, explaining that the university has 13 colleges and is undergoing a third stage of its evolution, with the emphasis on openness through the creation of partnerships and cooperative relationships with various higher education institutions in other countries.

This aided the raising of student numbers and served to advance the university. He added that the number of students in the Arabic Language Department is the highest of all departments of Eastern Languages, including those teaching Russian, Indonesian, Vietnamese, Farsi and Hebrew. The Arabic Department has 400 undergraduate students and about 50 graduate students per year; most of its graduates work in government departments, foreign affairs ministries, businesses, schools and universities.

Professor Al Daya said that he was happy to see that the Arabic Department was the most attractive in the college, adding that this indicates the progression of Arabic internationally. He also commented that AUST is unique in the management of its correspondence and administrative paperwork, archiving it in Arabic. Dr. Yan enquired about the possibility of sending two to three members of the college of Eastern Languages to observe the methods and curricula of Arabic language teaching at AUST and establish joint research projects in this area. He pointed out that the teaching of Arabic is a distinguished specialty in Shanghai and is therefore able to attract funding. He hoped that AUST would be able to send instructors to provide training in the teaching of Arabic and assist in research. The AUST delegation welcomed this idea.

In addition, Dr. Wang invited AUST Arabic instructors to publish in the journal of the College of Eastern Languages. He also asked whether the Chinese instructors could publish in the journal of Ajman University of Science & Technology, and Professor Al Daya replied that he had no objection. Dr. Yan then invited AUST to participate in an Arabic Language conference to be held in October 2010, and the Ajman delegation replied that AUST is ready either to send representatives or to participate via video conferencing. Professor Al Daya asked if there is an Arabic Language institute in China, and Professor Yan replied that there is the Federation of Arabic language teachers, and that AUST can cooperate with it.

The Dean of the College of Eastern Languages asked about the possibility of sending its Masters students to audit classes at AUST, with tuition fee exemption. The AUST delegation welcomed this suggestion, noting that Dr. Saeed Salman is ready to commit the university’s resources, knowledge and facilities to promote Arabic and take initiatives that reflect the dialogue among civilizations and achieve convergence and cross-fertilization between cultures. AUST, and notably the Authority of Advancement in Arabic Language and Center of Translation and Linguistic Research and the Quranic Miraculousness Chair are open to cooperation at all levels and in all areas, ranging from the exchange of students and visiting professors to research and other activities.

In response to a query from the Dean of the College of Eastern Languages about accreditation in the UAE, Dr. Samir Bloukh, head of the AUST delegation, said that there were three stages, starting with licensing followed by accreditation and re-accreditation. He explained that the accreditation of programs is not an easy process, being overseen by a neutral committee for academic credit and including experts from America and Britain.

Dr. Bloukh added that AUST wishes to develop a strong and long-term relationship, starting with the easily attainable and progressing to the evolution of relationships to implement large projects of common interest. Dr. Yan gave the AUST delegation various Arabic publications, an Arabic-Chinese dictionary and references used in his department’s library, and the AUST delegation offered to provide feedback to help the department in the protection of Arabic. To conclude the meeting the parties agreed to sign a cooperation agreement or memorandum of understanding in the UAE. Finally gifts were exchanged and group photographs taken.

It is worth noting that this visit was a follow-up to a visit made by Dr. Saeed Abdullah Salman, President of Ajman University of Science & Technology, in September 2009. At that time he gave an overview of AUST and its history since its foundation as a college in 1988. In less than two decades it formed a branching network of relationships and partnerships cooperating with other organizations and institutions from around the world, including the Association of Arab Universities, higher education institutions, as well as the Organization for Intellectual Property, the World Health Organization and the Euro-Arab Research Network, which is headed by Dr. Saeed Salman. It also organizes scientific and research activities locally, regionally, and internationally, serving society and providing the labor market with more than 19,000 graduates to date.

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