RAS AL KHAIMAH, (Pakistan Point News - 07th Oct, 2020) The American University of Ras Al Khaimah, AURAK, received an American delegation led by the US Ambassador to the UAE, John Rakolta Jr., and the US Consul-General in Dubai, Philip Frayne, to discuss different aspects of cooperation between the two sides in various academic, scientific, and research fields.
Professor Hassan Hamdan Al Alkim, President of AURAK, presented the university’s most important achievements in the last 10 years and highlighted areas of cooperation between them and other universities in the US. He also highlighted the accreditations, ratings and rankings that AURAK has recently gained. Professor Al Alkim called particular attention to the accreditation from the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools Commission on Colleges in December 2018 and the overall 5 QS stars rating gained in 2020.
Within the framework of this visit, AURAK signed a cooperation agreement with Wayne State University, WSU, a public research university in Detroit, Michigan, which was represented by its President, Roy Wilson, who attended the event virtually via video call and signed the agreement with Professor Al Alkim.
In this regard, Ambassador Rakolta Jr. said, "One of the most important factors that strengthens the relationship between the two countries is promoting people-to-people communication, which can be achieved by creating channels of communication for dialogue to build trust, innovation, and creativity. Therefore, this agreement between the two universities will allow students to learn from one another and exchange experiences to build a sustainable future relationship, based on these principles.
"In addition, it is very important that cooperation between the two universities expands throughout the region, especially since the US has hundreds of universities and colleges and we would love to share our expertise with the UAE," he added.
Through this agreement, WSU and AURAK aim to establish a UAE – US Higher education Collaboration Initiative. The funding provided by the US Embassy in UAE will help both universities expand current collaboration efforts, including student exchange and joint/dual degree programmes, while pursuing new initiatives to further connect the campuses, such as joint research, faculty and staff cooperation, and non-degree programmes.
