15 Zayed University students win Sheikh Mohammad Bin Zayed Education Grant

Sheikh Mohammad Bin Zayed Education Grant

(WAM) Fifteen exceptional Zayed University students have been selected as the winners of the fourth round of the Sheikh Mohamed Bin Zayed Al Nahyan Higher Education Grant, the Emirates Foundation for Youth Development announced today.

Launched in May 2011, the Grant Programme aims to further enhance the Abu Dhabi Government’s efforts to build a knowledge-based economy in the UAE by helping accomplished graduates of Zayed University’s bachelor programmes complete higher education studies at selected top universities in the UAE and overseas.

The winners were chosen for their academic excellence and the relevance of their selected majors to the UAE’s strategic requirements.

The Masters students have a choice studying at universities and disciplines in the UAE or foreign universities included in the top 200 Academic Ranking of World Universities – and accredited by the UAE’s Ministry of Higher Education and Scientific Research.

Sheikh Sultan Bin Tahnoun Al Nahyan, chairman of Abu Dhabi Tourism ‘&’ Culture Authority (TCA), and the Managing Director of the Emirates Foundation for Philanthropy, said the grant is “one of the generous initiatives of our wise leadership” and would help support students as they developed their scientific experience and enriched their knowledge, making them better able to compete in the local and world labor market. “The experience they gained would enable them to take a leading role in building a knowledge-based economy in UAE, he added.

Priority fields of study for the programme include MA and PhD degrees in education and social studies, tourism, science, museums and curatorial studies, healthcare, public administration, engineering and architecture.

“This batch of winners includes an elite group of excelling Emirati young researchers, who have obtained admission to outstanding world universities,” Sheikh Sultan Bin Tahnoun Al Nahyan said.

The grant covers tuition fees for students studying within the UAE and tuition, travel and residence expenses for those attending universities abroad.

The Grant was awarded to Afnan Said Ameen to study Architecture at Melbourne University; Sarah Al Marzouqi for the PhD Clinical Psychology at Kings College London; Khawla Al Hawi for MA degree in communication and Media at City University of London;; Sarah Al Mansour for MA in Diplomacy and International Affairs at Zayed University; Asmaa Bin sumaidaa and Alya Al Nuaimi for MA in Educational Leadership at Zayed University; Sumayya Al Akbari for Executive Masters in Health Care Administration at Zayed University; and Alyazia Al Hosani and Sadiya Al Menhali for Executive Masters in Public Administration at Zayed University.

Other winners are Ebtisam Al Suwaidi for MA in Sociology at City University of London; Latifa Al Azdi for MA in Development, Environment and Tourism at Kings College London; Fatima Al Qassim for MA in Urban Planning at the American University in Sharjah and Shatha Al Hashimi for MA in International Education Policy at Harvard University.

Zayed University President Dr Sulaiman Al Jasem expressed his gratitude to His Highness General Sheikh Mohammad bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Abu Dhabi Crown Prince and Deputy Supreme Commander of the UAE Armed Forces who launched the Sheikh Mohammad bin Zayed Higher Education Grant in May 2011. This support, said Dr Al Jasem, has continued. To date 46 of Zayed University’s most successful male and female graduates have benefited from the grant programme and completed their MA and PhD studies at outstanding local and overseas universities.

“This generous gesture reflects HH Sheikh Mohammad’s interest in assisting and developing promising youth capable of contributing to the country’s development, an approach established by the late Sheikh Zayed bin Sultan Al Nahyan,” Dr. Al Jasem said. “This march of building and progress is moving forward under the leadership of President His Highness Sheikh Khalifa bin Zayed Al Nahyan and his brothers, the rulers of the emirates. They save no efforts in providing support to the education sector, particularly in university education, and in helping to recognize and reward excelling students.” This helps create strong role models who embody strong values of allegiance and loyalty to the homeland and its citizens.

Students completing their MA and PhD programmes during 2013, can apply for the grant via the Emirates Foundation website (www.emiratesfoundation.ae).

Applicants must be Zayed University graduates, 21 years or over and have been accepted at a UAE university or a foreign university included in the top 200 Academic Ranking of World Universities and accredited by the UAE’s Ministry of Higher Education and Scientific Research. An accumulative average of no less than 3.0 points and a score in the IELTS test of no less than 6.0 or the equivalent is required.

More than 46 of Zayed University graduates have so far benefited from the Grants Programme.

Emirates Foundation is an independent philanthropic organization set up by the Government of the Emirate of Abu Dhabi to facilitate public-private funded initiatives to improve the welfare of people across the UAE.