DUNDEE’S Al-Maktoum Institute has announced its aim to become an ‘university college’ by the year 2020.
Institute principal, Professor Malory Nye, outlined the ambitious target, part of a recently-completed, comprehensive five-year strategy.
“The strategy for the next five years is to put in place the building blocks for our long-term aim to become a university college,” said Professor Nye.
“We want to achieve university college status. That is our ambition and we feel we have the talent and determination to make it happen.
“It would make the Institute a distinctive, independent and internationally-recognised centre of excellence for higher education with its own degree awarding powers, while continuing our valued partnership with the University of Aberdeen.
“Over the planning cycle of the next five years, we intend to be in a position for further growth and expansion that would help us achieve university college status by 2020.”
Professor Nye, now in his second year as principal said, that university college status for the Institute would bring further academic distinction to Dundee, which is already on the map internationally because of its two existing universities, as well as economic benefits.
“Student and staff numbers would rise with the number of taught and research educational programmes expanded,” said Professor Nye.
“Through marketing, recruitment, development of new programmes and teaching modes, and the continued growth of internal organisation and external partnerships, our strategy means the Institute will be transformed over the next five years.”
The principal said that the Institute had achieved a great deal over the past seven years but it could not afford to be complacent.
“We will take a measured approach as we strive to go forward from strength to strength, promoting intelligent debate and understanding in the broad field of the study of Islam and Muslims,” he said.
A total of 15 students graduated this week bringing the Institute’s graduation role to 91 from 24 different countries including Malaysia, Malawi, Poland, Egypt and Scotland.
“This is quite an achievement even in our relatively short history,” said Professor Nye.
Note to editors:
Al-Maktoum Institute for Arabic and Islamic Studies in Dundee is a new and exciting development in teaching and research in the study of Islam and Muslims.
It is an independent, research-led institution of higher education that offers postgraduate programmes of study with its degree programmes validated by the University of Aberdeen.
The aim of the Institute is to be a centre of excellence in the Study of Islam and Muslims, in particular to promote intelligent debate and understanding of Islam and the role of Muslims in the contemporary world, and to be a place of knowledge and reflection on the issues facing a diverse and multicultural world in the 21st century.
In pursuit of this aim the Institute is actively working to educate the next generation of scholars – nationally and internationally – in the study of Islam and Muslims to enable them to face the challenges and opportunities of today.
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