AUD Students and Graduates will be actively encouraged to use the start-up portal for student internships and graduate careers

Dubai, United Arab Emirates, March 20, 2012--Gradberry, the Middle East's leading careers portal, has signed a knowledge agreement with the American University in Dubai, one of the first such knowledge exchange partnerships in the region. 

As a part of the agreement, AUD students will be actively encouraged to use the portal, both for finding jobs and obtaining career advice through Gradberry's blog, the Fruit Bowl. "The University knowledge agreements strengthen our commitment to actively help students and graduates in starting their careers," said Gradberry CEO Iba Masood, "AUD is one of the leading institutions in the Middle East, and we're excited to have their students find opportunities through the portal." 

In addition to this landmark agreement, Gradberry is participating in AUD's Act Now career fair, to be held on Mar. 20 at the AUD campus. The fair enables students to take part in the sharing of ideas, and receive the latest industry insights and employer feedback. Last year, the fair attracted over 300 students and 60 companies, making it one of the biggest such university fairs in the country.

"In our continuous efforts for professional knowledge and industry expertise sharing with the AUD student and alumni community, we are very excited to have Gradberry in our "Knowledge Partner" program. This is just the beginning of more initiatives to come through our collaboration with Ms Iba Massod, whose fresh business idea can be a role model for young aspired entrepreneurs. As the Middle East's first career portal exclusively for student internships and graduate placements, AUD students have now access to a very useful resource to assist them with their job search," comments Ms. Stella Mandehou, AUD's Career Services Manager. 

The partnership with Gradberry highlights AUD's commitment to graduate career services, and is an example of knowledge sharing between the career services department of AUD, Gradberry, and employers. By signing the agreement, AUD has joined Gradberry's growing university network, which facilitates exchanging of resources to benefit students. 

Founded in 2011, Gradberry is the Middle East's first career portal exclusively for students and fresh graduates. Gradberry aims to help employers in finding the right graduate for their organization and has successfully recruited over 35 graduates for multinationals and SMEs in the UAE.

AUD's curricula across its degree-granting disciplines are skill-directed and career-oriented. Everything, from academic advising to the approach to faculty-student interaction in- and outside the classroom, in addition to career counseling, is implemented with attention to the needs of the individual student. With this in mind, AUD Career Services through its partnership with Gradberry is offering a channel of communication to AUD candidates to reach out to employers from all across the Middle East.

-Ends-

About gradberry:
Founded in 2011 by 21 year old graduate Iba Masood, gradberry.com is the Middle East's first careers portal, exclusively for student internships and graduate placements, owned by Gradberry LLC in Delaware U.S.A. and Gradberry FZE in the UAE. Gradberry is a local start-up which aims to help employers in finding the right graduate for their organization and plant fruitful careers for students and graduates. The portal is currently home to more than 6,000 students and graduates from the UAE and abroad. 

Relevant Links:

http://gradberry.com/thefruitbowl/

http://gradberry.com/beta/

About AUD
The American University in Dubai (AUD) is a private, non-sectarian institution of higher learning founded in 1995. It serves UAE nationals and international students who seek world-class career-oriented education. AUD, as an international institution of higher education, encourages global understanding by providing an atmosphere of cultural diversity and opportunities for an international education.

  • AUD is accredited by the Commission on Colleges (COC) of the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools (SACS) to award Bachelor's and Master's degrees.   

  • AUD is officially licensed by the Ministry of Higher Education and Scientific Research of the United Arab Emirates. The Ministry has accredited the university's programs in International Studies, Business Administration (both undergraduate and graduate), Communication and Information Studies, Engineering, Computer and Information Technology, Computer Science, Architecture, Visual Communication and Interior Design, Education (graduate), and Construction Management (graduate), in addition to a Certificate program in Middle Eastern Studies.

  • AUD is approved to operate by the State of Georgia Nonpublic Postsecondary Education Commission (NPEC).

  • AUD has received specialized accreditation for its Bachelor's of Business Administration (B.B.A.), and Master's of Business Administration (M.B.A.) degree programs in business through the International Assembly for Collegiate Business Education (IACBE). The university's undergraduate concentrations in Marketing Communications and Advertising (Creative) have been accredited by the International Advertising Association (IAA) in New York.

  • The Civil, Computer, and Electrical Engineering Programs of AUD's School of Engineering are accredited by the Engineering Accreditation Commission of ABET. The Bachelor of Science in Computer and Information Technology (B.S.C.I.T.) program is accredited by the Computing Accreditation Commission of ABET.

For more information, please visit www.aud.edu.

For media inquiries, please contact:
Ms. Samira Elghoul
Marketing Communications Coordinator, AUD
T: +971 4 3183108
E: sghoul@aud.edu

Sarah Zahidi
PR Executive Trainee, gradberry
T: +97155 5468592
E: Sarah.zahidi@gradberry.com

© Press Release 2012