Abu Dhabi, Feb. 5th, 2007 (WAM) - Abu Dhabi University, the nation's leadingprivate education establishment, signed a Memorandum of Understandingwith Munich Technical University and the University of Bonn from Germanyto jointly establish a College for Medicine and Health Sciences to bebased at ADU campus.

Once launched the college will receive students from all around the worldand will offer a multitude of medical and health sciences courses to allenrolled students.

The signing ceremony was attended by Angela Merkel, German Chancellorand Sheikh Hamdan bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Deputy Prime Minister and Chairmanof the Board of Trustees at ADU.

The Memorandum was signed by Dr Reynold MacPherson, ADU Chancellor, ProfessorH.C Melt and Wolf gang from Munich Technical University, and ProfessorRenhard Betner from the University of Bonn. Based on the agreement, thesoon-to-be established college will offer several courses including: medicalsciences, pharmacology, nursing, Medical Laboratory Sciences, Radiology,Medical Institutions Management, in addition to several others.

After signing the agreement, Sheikh Hamdan praised the strong relationshipsbetween the 2 respective the countries assuring that these relations weregreatly supported by the late Sheikh Zayed bin Sultan Al Nahyan. SheikhHamdan also added that UAE and Germany are currently cooperating morein depth in other various domains and fields with much encouragement ofthe President H.H. Sheikh Khalifa bin Zayed Al Nahyan. Sheikh Khalifaadditionally stated that the alliance between the 3 universities standswitness to the strong relations between the 2 countries and in the futurewill reap more academic and innovative projects that will benefit bothparties.

Sheikh Hamdan also added that Abu Dhabi University has earned it a strongreputation in terms of one of the most advanced academic institutionsin the country. The university embraces in its campus students from over44 nationalities which by itself instills in the value of tolerance and,and strengthens culture understanding between them.

"The support of H.H Sheikh Hamdan bin Zayed and his belief in the leadingrole that ADU plays has been a major reason for its success for he hasplaced given it a highly competitive mission that will ensure the offeringof the highest quality education in all the programs it offers," saidAli Saeed bin Harmal Al Dhaheri, Chairman of ADU.

"ADU fully understands its role as a national academic institution adheringto the highest international standards in teaching, scientific research,and social service. All the programs offered by ADU have been accreditedby the Ministry of Higher Education and Scientific Research," he added.

Abu Dhabi University is continuously cultivating associations with prominenteducational institutions worldwide and through these agreements is offeringjoint programs with numerous international universities. "ADU is constantlymonitoring the quality of the programs it offers to ensure that they arecomparable to others offered by internationally recognized universitiesworldwide and that they suitably fit the requirements of the local jobmarket," stated Ali Saeed Bin Harmal Al Dhaheri.

"Munich Technical University played vital role in developing the industryand changing the Bavaria district from agriculture to become one of themost important industrial cities in Europe," stated Professor WolfgangHerman, Munich Technical University Chancellor. Moreover, over the past40 years, 3 of the University's professors received the Nobel Peace Prize,and hosts over 20,000 students (13% foreigners), 450 faculty members,and 6500 of administrators working in its 12 colleges.

Munich Technical University won the "Best Universities" title in a competitionamong German universities. It has over It is considered one of the besttechnical universities that houses a medical college as well, and diligentlyapplies the latest technological innovations in all its programs.

Dean of the Health Sciences College at Bonn University stated that "ouruniversity is considered one of the leading universities in Germany andholds a prominent position locally in the fields of education. The healthsciences center at the university offers advanced curricula in Medicine,Dentistry, Nursing, Pharmacology, Physiotherapy, and Medical Laboratoryscience. The university currently holds a student body exceeding 13,000pupils, 520 faculty members, and 1,700 researchers."On a further note, Abu Dhabi University had inaugurated its new campusat Khalifa City 'B' in October, and has equipped it with the latest facilitiesand technologies to provide students with a strong academic environment.

The campus setting also allows for future expansion plans to be carriedout in the future. ADU currently houses 3 colleges whichare: College of Arts and Science, College of Business Administration,College of Computer Sciences and Research, and offers 18 programs 12 ofwhich in the undergraduate level, and 6 in the Masters level.