Last year, New York University (NYU) announced an agreement with the Emirate of Abu Dhabi to build NYU Abu Dhabi. The research university, with a complete integration of a liberal arts and science college, will be the “first world-class, liberal arts university in the Middle East”.
NYU Abu Dhabi wciąż działa, a pierwszy formalny rok akademicki ma się rozpocząć jesienią 2010 r. NYUAD, który oferuje stopnie naukowe NYU BA i BS, a także specjalistyczne programy magisterskie, ma przyjąć co najmniej 2000 studentów studiów licencjackich i około 800 studentów studiów magisterskich. Studenci będą przyjmowani z całego świata, zwłaszcza z szerokiego Bliskiego Wschodu i Azji Południowej.
The campus will be located on Saadiyat Island, 500 meters off the coast of Abu Dhabi. This island is still not developed, but is being planned for a population of 150,000 people.
The convergence of NYU and Abu Dhabi, the capital of both the emirate of Abu Dhabi and the United Arab Emirates, highlights every university’s race to take the lead on globalization. An increasing number of American research universities have been expanding internationally, many of which have created programs in the Middle East.
For instance, Weill Cornell Medical College, set up the first overseas American medical school in Qatar, and Yale University has been discussing the creation of an arts institute in Abu Dhabi.
Thomas L. Friedman was right in saying the world is flat; globalization has truly hit a new peak and is only intensifying, whether in education or in business.