HBMeU signs framework MoU with Open University of Catalonia

HBMeU signs MoU with Open University of Catalonia

Hamdan Bin Mohammed e-University (HBMeU), has announced that it has signed a framework agreement with Spain’s Open University of Catalonia on the sidelines of HBMeU’s participation at the recently concluded First Arab-Euro Conference on Higher Education in Barcelona, Spain. Dr. Mansoor Al Awar, HBMeU Chancellor, Prof. Nabil Baydoun, Assistant Chancellor for Learners & Enterprise Development and Serine El Salhat, Assistant Chancellor for International Cooperation, served as HBMeU’s delegates during the Conference, which gathered for the first time the Association of Arab Universities (AARU) and the European University Association (EUA) and their respective members.

Under the agreement, HBMeU and the Open University of Catalonia will jointly promote and undertake programs and activities of mutual benefit. The Open University of Catalonia is an internationally recognised online university with a community of over 70,000 students. The agreement covers various activities, including mobility and exchanges of researchers, academics and administrative personnel; student exchanges and internships; co-supervision of PhD students; joint and/or double degrees; joint research and development, innovation and knowledge transfer projects; and other cooperative activities. Dr. Mansoor Al Awar and Dr. Josep A. Planell, Rector of the Open University of Catalonia, signed the agreement.

Dr. Al Awar said: “HBMeU continues to consolidate its international alliances as part of our strategy to adopt global best practices and further improve the quality of e-learning in the Arab world. Our partnership with the Open University of Catalonia creates new opportunities to further strengthen our research capabilities, and expand the academic programs being offered to learners.

Moreover, with HBMeU’s PhD program to commence next fall, this strategic partnership will give us greater leverage to enhance the quality of learning of PhD students through co-supervision programs. We have certainly benefited immensely from our participation at the First Arab-Euro Conference on Higher Education. Aside from serving as a great networking platform, the event also gave us the opportunity to learn from global best practices and to likewise share the important milestones that HBMeU has achieved as the Arab world’s top e-learning institution.”

The First Arab-Euro Conference on Higher Education was organised by the Association of Arab Universities and the European University Association and hosted by the University of Barcelona. The Conference encouraged Rectors, Presidents and Vice-chancellors from both regions to rethink the role of the university in the current context of internationalization and to examine the introduction of new functions to tackle socio-economic challenges in the Arab, Euro and Arab-Euro contexts.

HBMeU is the first e-learning institute in the Arab World that was established with the vision to develop a new learning process through the implementation of learning practices characterised by flexibility, quality and diversity to strengthen self-leadership among learners and prepare them socially and academically for a future career through integration in the job market. HBMeU’s philosophy is based on vital methods that have been developed through extensive research and development by specialists from all over the world.

These methods include offering high quality programs, supporting the pursuit of lifelong learning, promoting the freedom of information, reinforcing the culture of excellence and innovation and providing education for everyone in line with the highest standards of comprehensiveness and credibility. The university, which is accredited by the UAE Ministry of Higher Education and Scientific Research, seeks to constantly identify knowledge needs, support research and development programs and create an outstanding environment for e-learning.