Portsmouth Technopole, United Kingdom
June 26, 2023.
The Executive Director of the Centre of Economic and Leadership Development (CELD) UK, Dr Mrs Ibifuro Ken-Giami, and Prof Muthanna G Abdul Razzaq, President and CEO of the American University in the Emirates (AUE), Dubai-UAE, today Monday, June 26, signed a memorandum of understanding during the virtual kick-off ceremony to officially launch the AUE – CELD Higher Education Scholarship for Girls scholarship scheme.
Through this scheme, the American University in the Emirates (AUE), in partnership with the Centre for Economic and Leadership Development (CELD), is set to offer high-quality higher education full scholarships to ten (10) girls and young women with ambitions to pursue further education. This scholarship scheme is designed for high-performing girls and young women facing financial challenges in furthering their education to Bachelors’ and Masters’ Degree levels including those from underprivileged homes across Africa, the Middle East, South America and Asia.
In her welcome address, Dr Mrs Ken-Giami stated that the higher education scholarship for girls primarily aims to address the fourth sustainable development goal, which is focused on ensuring access to quality education. She noted that the project aims specifically to align with an aspect of the focus of the CELD, which is to ensure access to free equitable quality education for girls, especially including accessing scholarships for young people from developing countries. “We are, therefore, most excited about this scholarship scheme.” She said.
She further explained its similarities and differences to existing projects that the organization is working on. Dr Ken-Giami added, “Although this scholarship mainly targets girls, a small selection of young men will also be included to intentionally accommodate gender diversity considerations. The prospective beneficiaries of the scholarship scheme will be selected from 10 countries across Africa, the Middle East, South America, and Asia.”
Other members of the American University in the Emirates (AUE) leadership who were also present during the launch include: Prof Asma Salman, the Dean of the College of Business Administration (COBA), Ms. Nisrine Rannak, Vice President for Enrollment Management and Student Services, Prof William Cornwell, Provost and Prof Abhilasha Singh, Vice President for Academic Affairs. They all noted that the AUE – Scholarship for girls was a welcome development.
“Together, we can realize the United Nation’s Sustainable Development Goals, especially goals 4 and 5, because we strongly believe in quality education, diversity and inclusion initiatives” stated Prof Singh. Prof Salman added, “The AUE specifically remains an example for women’s leadership because we have a lot of women occupying leadership positions within the organization, which is quite unique in the Middle East region”.
In his remarks before the official virtual MOU signing, the AUE President, Prof Razzaq agreed with his colleagues as they agreed that the university welcomes the opportunity to help women who represent 50% of communities. He further explained, “In addition to the 10 full scholarships, we can also provide partial scholarships, namely 50%, 30%, 40%. This will depend on the grades of the students and their financial situation.’
Dr Mrs Ken-Giami voiced her appreciation to the entire AUE team, organization and Prof Razzaq for his leadership and what the institution is doing for women and girls consistently.
Prof Razzaq and Dr Ken-Giami work in organizations that prioritize the girl-child and seek to create as many opportunities as possible for them. This project will allow them to work together towards this goal with the assistance of other advisors and professionals in this sector. Also invited to participate in the official kick-off ceremony were representatives of beneficiary countries, such as the His Excellency Hakim Hajoui, the Ambassador of the Kingdom of Morocco to The United Kingdom, ably represented by Mr Adnane Lahmiri, the Political Counselor.
The project was officially launched after the memorandum was signed, and it is set to benefit young girls and a few boys that qualify for graduate or post-graduate education that they would previously not have been able to access. The prospective beneficiaries will be selected from 10 countries across Africa, the Middle East, South America, and Asia.
Details about the selection process will be announced.
About the American University in the Emirates (AUE)
The American University in the Emirates is a coeducational undergraduate and graduate degree-granting institution committed to preparing students as global citizens for future career aspirations and lifelong learning through quality teaching, research, and service opportunities.
With its core values of improving quality of life, provide equal opportunities and recognition for all, promote innovation and creativity, stewardship and economic viability, the institution is dedicated to being one of the leading higher educational institutions locally and regionally, providing an integrated pathway for students to become creative, effective, and productive members of the community. Boasting a world-class campus and highly acclaimed faculty, AUE has cemented its place as one of the core higher education institutions in the GCC region.
For more information about the AUE, please visit https://aue.ae/
About the Centre for Economic and Leadership Development (CELD) UK
Centre for Economic and Leadership Development (CELD) UK is a leading social impact organization dedicated to harnessing the female human capital by accelerating enduring empowerment, elevation, and equitable development for women of all cultures and circumstances as a formidable approach to advancing global socio-economic development. CELD is envisioned as a thought leader on gender, diversity and inclusion and a promoter of inclusive leadership and education theory and practice for the youth.
CELD believes in the power of women as powerful change agents in our societies. This is important as women all over the world, and especially in developing nations, are increasingly breaking stereotypes and contributing meaningfully to nation-building and their local communities. It is this faith that we place in the collective abilities of women to move our world forward that has made our activities geared towards equipping women with the right tools a very significant part of our activities at CELD.
As an organization in special consultative status with the United Nations Economic and Social Council (UN ECOSOC) since 2012, CELD strives to lead the discussion and, most importantly, act on strategies to improve women’s and girls’ professional development and peak performance. The organization has an undying drive to unleash the awesome potential in ordinary humans, including women and girls, whilst placing our faith in the future of our young people with a renewed commitment to helping less privileged youths, orphans, and vulnerable children pursue their sense of worth through educational empowerment and support schemes.
For more information about CELD, please visit our website – https://celdng.org/
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