ABU DHABI // Paris-Sorbonne University Abu Dhabi is planning a major overhaul of its bachelor’s degree programme to better prepare students for higher education.
Prof Jean Yves de Cara, the university’s executive director, said subjects such as history, philosophy, literature and art history would merge, beginning in the autumn. The curriculum will remain unchanged.
“The students coming to the university are not really ready to go straight into bachelor’s courses,” Prof de Cara said. “It is not something unique to the UAE, but the new strategy will enhance students’ performance.
“They don’t know how to behave as students in the university – to take notes, to go to the library and prepare for classes.”
The problem was partly a lack of training among students in independent study before attending the university, he said. The changes will, ultimately, give students a wider base of knowledge.
Two new master’s programmes will be launched in the autumn. The master’s for professionals in museums is being developed alongside the Louvre and École du Louvre in Paris.
The course at the French-speaking university will cover subjects from museum management to restoration to the history of art. The class will have around 15 students.
Of the 500 students at the university, on Reem Island, 30 per cent are UAE-based, a mixture of Emiratis and expatriates. The remaining 70 per cent are from abroad.
The addition of a master’s degree in performing arts would complement the region’s burgeoning music and theatre scene, Prof de Cara said.
At the Sorbonne, which opened in the capital in 2006, there is a capacity for 1,500 more students.
Melanie Swan
Page last updated 01 January 2020