e-University to be launched in Bahrain

Bahrain is launching an electronic university, which will offer online courses to students from all over the Middle East and Asia. The Education Ministry of Bahrain has signed an agreement with the Malaysia-based, non-profit organisation to set up the Asia e-University (AeU) in Bahrain by 2010.

The scheme was originally proposed by Malaysia at a meeting of the 30 member states of the Asia Co-operation Dialogue on May 23 and 24 in Doha. Malaysia is providing $50 million (BD18.840m) to launch the e-university. It will be managed by Open University Malaysia, which has run online courses since 2002. The e-university is set to open in Bahrain by 2010, with an initial intake of 4,100 students. The University will offer under-graduate, masters and PhD (doctorate) degrees in information technology, science, health and engineering courses.

The university is also developing the professional executive educational track, which involves short training courses. The university will also develop the vocational and technical track, as in developing countries there is a need for the certificate and diploma education level, which concentrates more on a vocational or technical base. The aim is to be a leading innovator of e-learning in the Asia Pacific region and set up national e-learning initiatives. AeU will also set up two branch campuses in Singapore and Saudi Arabia, each by 2010.