Deakin-HCT Master of Education
School of Education
The Education Without Borders International Student Conference held in 2005 in Abu Dhabi provided the opportunity for the signing of an agreement between Deakin University and the Higher Colleges of Technology in the United Arab Emirates to offer Deakin's Master of Education Degree.
The Deakin University Master of Education has been offered in collaboration with the Abu Dhabi Women's College and Dubai Women's College since 2005. Deakin University Faculty of Education staff who provide a series of study intensives in the UAE, drawing on contemporary web-based and print materials. Students are supported both by Deakin's distance education resources and support structures as well as local tutorial and infrastructural support.
The agreement was signed on behalf of Deakin University by the Pro-Vice Chancellor International, Eric Meadows and Dean of Education, Professor Shirley Grundy.
Mr Meadows said that the Higher Colleges of Technology are pre-eminent tertiary education providers in the UAE and Deakin is proud to be associated with them in this exciting initiative.
Victorian Minister for Education, Lynne Kosky was a key-note speaker at the Education Without Borders Conference and witnessed the signing of the agreement. For the Higher Colleges of Technology, Sheikh Nahayan Mabarak Al Nahayan, Minister of Education for the UAE and Chancellor of the Higher Colleges of Technology signed the agreement.
'Victoria has many links with the Middle East and I welcome this agreement as an additional significant educational partnership with a leading Victorian Faculty of Education,' Minister Kosky said.
Professor Grundy said, 'The Deakin Master of Education will offer an important opportunity for Emirati women who have completed the Melbourne University certified Bachelor of Education degree to engage in postgraduate study.'
'These graduates see themselves as being at the forefront of educational reform in the UAE and are keen to take their place as educational leaders in the future. They recognise that postgraduate studies in education will be important if they are going to play a significant part in educational development in their country'.
The UAE has many expatriate educators who welcome the opportunity to up-grade their qualifications through locally supported, distance education provision. The Higher Colleges of Technology is also interested in attracting enrolments of qualified teachers from other middle eastern countries.
Associate Dean (International) in the Faculty of Education , Associate Professor Ian Robottom, who undertook the negotiations for the agreement, noted that additional benefits for Emirate and expatriate graduates would also flow from this initiative. 'As well as the standard coursework pathway, the Master of Education offers the option of a research option that will provide entry to PhD study for qualified graduates. Deakin's off-campus option for PhD enrolment will further enhance the value of the partnership with the Higher Colleges of Technology by increasing the opportunities for research training as well as postgraduate studies in education'.
Lecturing staff from the Faculty of Education at Deakin and from the Dubai Women's and Abu Dhabi Women's Colleges collaborate to produce joint case study material that will increase the local relevance of the course. 'Internationalising the curriculum through collaborative work such as this will have benefits for all students, not just those from the UAE', Associate Professor Robottom said.
