NYU plans Abu Dhabi campus

New York University is to open a campus in Abu Dhabi in a bid to attract students from Arab and Muslim countries.

The degree-granting campus, which will accommodate up to 2,000 students, will be funded by the Abu Dhabi government, US press said Friday. A full undergraduate college, it is likely to offer divisions in the humanities, social sciences and natural sciences.

Mariët Westermann, currently director of the university’s Institute of Fine Arts, will head the campus, according to the New York Times. A senior faculty member told the newspaper “She’s a brilliant scholar, an impressive, polished person, and she’s a woman, which makes a statement.”

The source said there were risks attached to the project, which is to be formally announced next month. “The two issues for which there are not clear and easy answers are whether we can get faculty comparable to the quality of N.Y.U. faculty, and whether we can get students comparable to N.Y.U. undergraduates,” he said.

Details are yet to be finalised, the paper said, however financial incentives are likely to be offered to NYU professors to visit the Abu Dhabi campus for short or long term courses.

Students will take broad general education courses in their first two years, with all instruction in English.

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