Sunday, Nov 06, 2011
Gulf News
The UAE University (UAEU) will launch a unique engineering master’s programme next year to help realise the Abu Dhabi 2030 vision of diversifying the country’s economy, university officials announced recently.
What will make the Master of Engineering in Microprocessor Design distinctive is not only its focus on hi-tech specialisations such as semiconductors and microprocessor design, but also the marriage of science and business.
“The uniqueness of this programme has to do with the fact that there is an engineering side and then a business leadership side to it,” said Professor Seham Al Deen Galadari, Vice Provost for research and graduate studies at UAEU. “It will basically train engineers to be able to make projects work in reality through leadership and business knowledge they would not usually be exposed to on other master’s courses.”
Collaboration
The programme is a collaboration between the Abu Dhabi government entities of the Advanced Technology Investment Company and Mubadala in partnership with UAEU.
Professor Bernhard Boser, from the college of engineering at the University of California, Berkley is currently at UAEU to design the master’s programme.
“Microprocessing is an important aspect of the programme and is connected to the Abu Dhabi government’s acquisition of two companies, Global Foundaries and Advanced Micro Devices (AMD),” said Boser. “Intel is the world’s largest manufacturer of microprocessors and AMD is its biggest competitor.”
Boser said microprocessors are what essentially power all the electronic devices humans have become so dependent on in the 21st century.
“Microprocessors are what power all these devices we have, it is the heart of a laptop, tablet or smartphone for instance,” he said. “However, sometimes too much focus is placed on microprocessors as they are part of a broader mechanism because electronic circuits are the true crucial part of technology.”
He added with UAEU’s new master’s degree in engineering, graduates could fit into job roles such as senior engineer product manager or director of engineering.
“It’s a creative occupation with great opportunities to work with developing hi-tech electronics and microprocessors,” said Professor Boser. “It will give graduates the opportunity to realise new technological solutions to help people be better and more powerful.”
The cost of the degree has not been determined, however merit-based scholarships and fellowships will be available to interested Emiratis. Both Galadari and Boser, stressed that although the programme will be open to expatriates; the university is mainly interested in attracting UAE nationals. This will give them the opportunity to contribute to the UAE economy.
“This programme will be producing future leaders and innovators that will enable and enhance the UAE’s transformation to a knowledge-based economy,” said Galadari.
The programme is still in the design stage and Boser said it will take approximately one-and-a-half years to complete.
By Rania Moussly?Staff Reporter
Gulf News 2011. All rights reserved.
