Barbara Matthews, Nottingham Trent University's Pro Vice-Chancellor for Culture and Head of the College of Art, Architecture, Design and Humanities attended a ceremony in Dubai as one of nine founding members of the Global Applied Education Network (GAEN). She, along with the other members, signed a series of Memorandums of Understanding (MoU) to create the pioneering new network. The ceremony was hosted by the Higher Colleges of Technology in the United Arab Emirates (UAE).
Forming a strong partnership
GAEN will support the UAE and the wider Middle East and North Africa (MENA) economies by applying proven and global effective practices aimed at nurturing knowledge partnerships, the sharing of best practices and programmes to boost employability, innovation, and entrepreneurship.
“We’re really delighted to be a founding member of GAEN. It gives us a very welcome opportunity to extend our international relationships into the Middle East, and I’m quite sure it’s going to provide many opportunities for our students and our staff, ranging from exchanges, projects we do alongside each other, and more," says Barbara. “Maybe we can benchmark across the membership and I’m quite sure that we’ll find opportunities to share best practice, and some research projects as well.”
Collaborating with further higher education institutions
From nine of the world’s leading applied higher education institutions who are part of GAEN, Nottingham Trent University is the only UK institution involved. Other founding members include Nottingham Trent University's current partners, Queensland University of Technology and Swinburne University of Technology in Australia. The network will align the strategic priorities of its founding members and those to come through sharing of best practices and facilitating cooperation on applied research and academic matters on a global level.
The teaching, research and innovation capabilities of GAEN institutions will be strengthened through increased cooperation with leading universities and colleges worldwide, while links with businesses and industry will be increased by offering partnerships in areas of applied research.
Nottingham Trent University wants to use GAEN to create further relationships in the Gulf and North Africa, both academic and commercial, and to give student and staff opportunities to experience the region.
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