DUBAI - Clutching a brand new student ID card, Berty Luka, who had just enrolled at the University of Wollongong, Dubai, said, “This is like my passport to freedom.”
Co-education, bunking, long hours of hanging out at the students’ lounge are what freshers like Berty look forward to doing in the next four years.
The University of Wollongong, Dubai (UOWD) welcomed its new batch of students to an orientation programme for both graduate and post-graduate students at the Knowledge Village Campus in Dubai on Saturday.
The newly-appointed president of UOWD, Professor Rob Whelan, addressed the students and their parents on the university’s aims, the curriculum to be followed, the new services on offer and what the students and parents could expect from UOWD during the course period.
“We want the students of UOWD to be Citizens of the World, and they should be prepared for a job anywhere in the world. Students here are quite professional when they interact, and it is great to see such a fresh attitude in the students, which we intend to develop to its maximum potential,” Prof Whelan told Khaleej Times.
Vivian D’souza, ex-student of Indian High School, Dubai, who has enrolled for Bachelor of Business Administration (BBA), said, “With regard to experiencing campus life, I am expecting to do a lot of extracurricular things that I didn’t do in school, especially in sport. It was my decision to study here and my parents supported me.”
Another student who has enrolled for BBA, Rochelle Mascarenhas, said, “We feel a lot more responsible by joining the college because in school, our parents were contacted for everything. Now, the university calls us on our mobile phones when the need arises. So, we don’t feel like children because we are more personally involved with the university.”
Ravi Kumar Mirchandani, who had his credits transferred from another university in Dubai and came along with his parents for the orientation, said, “The reason I transferred to UOWD is because the course I was looking for, Bachelor of Commerce, wasn’t available at my previous university. ”
He further said, “Last year UOWD had 84 per cent of its students who have been successfully placed in the job market. Apart from that, the fee structure here is quite reasonable.”