Career focus need not stymie personal advancement

Commitment to study runs deep in employed aspirants, experts say

Most of the postgraduate students in the UAE are working people, said university officials. “About 90 to 95 per cent of our postgraduate students are working,” said Felix Lanceley, Academic Registrar, University of Wollongong in Dubai. Therefore, postgraduate classes are conducted in the evening. Master’s in Business [with different specialisations], Engineering Management, Human Resources and Marketing are some of the popular courses. Most of the students — both men and women — are in their 20s and 30s and some are older. “We have students of around 100 nationalities,” Lanceley said. The university attracts many Emirati postgraduate students who want to advance their career in government. Lanceley said most of the working people are highly self-motivated while highlighting the difference in approach between undergraduates and postgraduates. “We find some undergraduate students struggling for motivation, but that is not a problem with postgraduate students. [The latter] have a serious attitude towards studies and high expectations [of themselves] … and they generally do very well.” According to Lanceley, the institutional support for these students is strong and well-directed. The working students have to attend classes two or three days a week and for the rest of the time, they can study from home. “We have an e-learning portal that gives access to lectures,” he said. His advice to working people who wish to take up studies is to assess their commitments at work and family before taking up any courses, in order to do justice to their studies. It will have a positive effect on career progression, creating new connections and opportunities but after prioritis- ing one’s commitments, he said.

Eric Fouache, Vice-Chancellor of Paris Sorbonne University Abu Dhabi, said that a majority of master’s students are working and many of them hold senior positions.

“They are very motivated to take up programmes because they want to enhance their career, and take what they are learning from the courses and apply it to their daily work,” Fouache said.

The university is very accommodating of such students, according to Fouache. “This includes having all master’s courses being taught during the evenings and on the weekends to ensure they can attend. We want to create a comfortable environment for our working students,” he said.

“Our priority is to support the workforce of the UAE and to follow the market trends in the country,” he added.

The vice-chancellor said the university’s master’s programmes are extensive and highly sought-after by students. Health economics, environment, international business law, banking and finance are some of the popular subjects. “There is a wide range of choices,” he said.

Amit Phulwani, marketing and recruitment coordinator, University of Manchester in Dubai, said it offers flexible programmes for working people. “We have a dedicated team of advisers to assist our working students; we provide a lot of flexibility when it comes to the courses and their completion,” he said.

Working students can take up to five years to complete courses. The students are then able to take breaks if they are too busy with work, and return to finish the programme, Phulwani said.

Some of the popular subjects selected by working students include strategic management, venture capital and portfolio management etc. “It depends on what working students are looking for and how they intend to progress,” said Phulwani.

[University approach] includes having all master’s courses being taught during the evenings and on the weekends to ensure [students] can attend. Eric Fouache | Vice-Chancellor, Paris Sorbonne University We find some undergraduate students struggling for motivation, but that is not a problem with postgraduate students.” Felix Lanceley | Academic Registrar, University of Wollongong in Dubai