The University of Wollongong in Dubai (UOWD) celebrated the graduation of a record number of 736 graduates at two glittering ceremonies in the presence of hundreds of distinguished guests, proud parents and family members and faculty staff at the Jumeirah Beach Hotel.
H.E. Dr. Hanif Hassan, UAE Minister for Education, was the Guest of Honour at the morning ceremony in which 164 students graduated in bachelors degrees in business and IT disciplines. Mr. Michael Codd A.C., Chancellor of the University of Wollongong, conferred the degrees. Amid festive and sometimes emotionally charged atmosphere, parents and family members, many of whom had flown in from across the globe, cheered the graduating students.
Mr. Michael Codd A.C. later conferred 572 degrees on postgraduate students in the evening ceremony. H.E. Mr. Jeremy Breuer, Australian Ambassador to the UAE was also present at the ceremony.
For the programs of Master of Strategic Marketing and Master of Strategic HR Marketing, this marked the inaugural graduation ceremony, while record number of students graduated from the MBA, International Business and Quality Management programs.
In his address, Professor Nick van der Walt, Chief Executive Officer of UOWD, underlined the university’s position as a reputed institution of learning and research, focused on creating well-rounded professionals equipped to enter the local and international job markets with confidence and whose qualifications are recognised and highly sought-after. He reiterated the University’s mission to support the development of human resources in the country by developing current curriculum and introducing new programs in areas of strategic priority as identified by the UAE’s leadership. He also thanked the UAE authorities and UOWD’s industry partners for their enormous support to the university.
“This year marks a milestone for University of Wollongong in Dubai (UOWD) as we complete 15 years of delivering value-added higher education to students of diverse nationalities,” added Professor Nick van der Walt. “Drawing from a proud Australian heritage, our programs are focused on producing professionals and leaders who will successfully contribute to the development of the country, the region and the international community.”
Gary Stanley DSilva, graduating with a Bachelor of Business Administration, proposed the Vote of Thanks at the undergraduate ceremony and fondly recalled the happy moments he enjoyed at the university. He reminded his fellow graduates, as they began their journey to successful careers, to uphold the values of excellence, ethics, equity and an appreciation of cultural diversity that are engrained within UOWD students.
Nizar Nabil Edaili, graduating with a Master of Business Administration, proposed the Vote of Thanks at the postgraduate ceremony and expressed his gratitude to the faculty members for their dedication and their spouses, children and family members for their support in making this day a reality.
The UOWD Graduation Ceremonies have been growing in scale and grandeur over the years. The first graduation ceremony held in 1997 honoured just 62 students. Ten years later the number has grown ten-fold to 726 graduates.
An exit survey of the graduating students highlighted overwhelming satisfaction of students with UOWD and successful achievement of graduate outcomes. 94.97% were satisfied with their university experience, and 94.28% said they were content with the quality of the program. Further, 96.53% of the graduates said they were likely to recommend UOWD to other people, and 95.3% were likely to hire UOWD graduates. Around 79% students were employed at the time of graduation.
Graduates who ranked at the top of their class were presented with prestigious awards provided by UOWD’s industry partners, including Damas, the Rivoli Group, Dubai Quality Group, DUBAL, innovate HR Solutions, Gulf Agency Company (GAC) , the South African Business Council and the Australian Business Council in Dubai. Faculty members were also awarded for excellence in teaching and research.
Caption: H.E. Dr. Hanif Hassan, UAE Minister of Education and Mr. Michael Codd A.C., Chancellor of the University of Wollongong, with a graduating student at the 2007 Graduation Ceremony in Dubai.
About University of Wollongong Dubai
Established in 1993, UOWD was the first Australian university in Dubai to be licensed by the UAE Ministry of Higher Education & Scientific Research. Located at Knowledge Village, it boasts 2500 students from 80 different nationalities. It is part of one of Australia’s best performing research institutions, University of Wollongong Australia (UOW) which is recognised as one of the top Australian universities for excellence in teaching performance.
