Women dominate first crop of United Arab Emirates University PhD students

[grassfed]

AL AIN // The first students to undertake a PhD programme at a federal institution began their four-year journey yesterday at UAE University.

Thirty-eight of the country’s most talented young students were chosen from 200 applicants for the programme. Most of those selected – 28 – were women.

Abdulla al Khanbashi, the university’s vice chancellor, said the predominance of females would “guarantee the quality” of the programme and act as a “challenge” to the 10 male PhD candidates. The university had planned to accept only 20 candidates, but so many qualified students applied that it decided to nearly double the number.

The students, from a range of countries including the UAE, India, Bangladesh, Syria and Morocco, will study in four departments: engineering, information technology, medicine and science. Many of the students have linked their research to a developing field in the country, including shark ecology in the Gulf and studies into diseases such as diabetes. Hazem Bakri al Nasr, 28, will focus on the UAE’s water shortage and climate change. “The UAE in particular has limited water resources and when the country’s developing at such a fast pace and the population is growing so quickly, it places higher demands on the country’s water,” Mr al Nasr said.

“I hope this study will help to manage this problem and look at the impact of climate change.”

He said it was important to think for the future. “We are part of this world so we have to consider what’s going on.”

more http://www.thenational.ae/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20100203/NATIONAL/702029805/1001

United Arab Emirates University http://www.uaeu.ac.ae

[Jackpine Radical]

1. Happening in medicine & psychology in the US too.

I think 70% of new psych PhDs and PsyDs are women, and over half of MDs. My cynical wife commented, "That oughtta bring MD salaries down a little."

[Posteritatis]

2. Ouch. (nt)