Five-year collaboration to cover fields of health and social sciences

Dubai, UAE, March 12, 2017:  Canadian University Dubai (CUD) has entered into a five-year partnership with Wilfrid Laurier University, Canada, to collaborate on curriculum development and student transfer initiatives in the fields of health and social sciences.

Building on CUD’s existing suite of programs in the School of Public Health & Health Sciences, the new agreement will see the two institutions work on curriculum development in disciplines such as psychology, water science and environmental science. The partners will also work on the creation of opportunities for existing CUD Environmental Health Management students to transfer their studies to health science programs at Laurier.

As CUD prepares to bring forward a new undergraduate degree in social work, the partnership is expected to explore how Canadian accreditation principles will be incorporated in the curriculum, and how students can incorporate a period of Canada-based study in their program.

Meanwhile in the social sciences field, the two institutions will work collaboratively on ideas to create combined honours degrees that will attract awards to both universities. It is also anticipated that CUD will benefit from Laurier’s expertise in policing education, and explore the opportunity of delivering degrees and corporate training to the police service in Dubai.

Wilfrid Laurier University has more than a century of history in Canada’s higher education landscape, offering more than 110 programs in nine different faculties. With over 19,000 students across two campuses and two additional sites, it is a university with an international outlook, already holding exchange agreements with institutions in 28 countries.

This new agreement comes following a visit by CUD President, Mr. Karim Chelli, to Laurier’s campus in Waterloo, Ontario, where discussions took place in areas of mutual interest. The visit culminated in the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding.

Speaking about the partnership, Pr. Chelli said, “We are delighted to enter into this collaboration, which promises to open up several new, exciting avenues for strategic development for both institutions. Equally, we are honoured to have Wilfrid Laurier University join our ever-growing network of Canadian partners, and to provide our students with another range of opportunities to access the best in Canadian higher education.”

Dr. Deb MacLatchy, Laurier’s Provost and Vice-President (Academic), and incoming President and Vice-Chancellor said, “We are very happy to have signed this MOU with the Canadian University Dubai. This agreement will bring together some of the strengths of each institution to create pathways for students and exciting collaborative research opportunities. We welcome the knowledge and talent that faculty and students from CUD can share with us as we build on the teaching and research possibilities that come from this partnership.”