Paris Sorbonne Abu Dhabi

Sorbonne is described as “a bridge between civilizations”. Could you explain what you mean by Sorbonne and education generally, as being a bridge between civilizations?

We’ve decided that this motto is very suitable and applicable to the Sorbonne. The Sorbonne is a very ancient university, it is 750 years old, with a heritage and culture that is very rich. We are at a time where we need to encourage dialogue between nations, in accordance with the vision of His Highness the president and Sheikh Mohammed. Upon a visit of His Highness Sheikh Mohammed, the Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi, to France, they decided to boost the relations between France and the UAE. The education field was core and, in particular, the Sorbonne was the project that was thought of. We have succeeded in convincing the French, and the French wanted to come to the UAE. It’s not easy for such a university to go out of France for the first time in 750 years unless there is a motive beyond that. Knowledge is universal, the language matters but it is not, in itself, an objective. There are tens of thousands of languages in the world and French is a very famous language, it is the second international language, not by the number of people who speak it but by its importance. It was decided that the Sorbonne would be a very good example, with its heritage, to come to the East, and in particular to the United Arab Emirates, to form that bridge between civilizations. Universities are important tools to develop the people in any country. So, we said why not repeat the cycle of history. The Arabs were very rich in knowledge and research and we wanted to continue this, to reach where the knowledge is and get it. It is well-known that the Arabs were pioneers in mathematics, physics, chemistry, medicine and philosophy, and we stopped at some point, because of the evolution of history but we think that knowledge and education are in themselves goals. We have to attain it and to use it to secure our future. Also, to continue on the motto “a bridge between civilizations”, we thought that the Sorbonne is an ideal model to bring to this region. There was concern as to whether it would succeed, but I had no doubt that it would succeed because the name of the Sorbonne is famous, the people that take care of the Sorbonne are very reliable and we were willing. It has proven that knowledge is universal. We are attracting enough students to come and join. Also, part of our ambition is to have the private sector involved in this gain of investing in education because it pays off, at the end of the day. We are all people who have been educated in some way or another; an establishment took us and used us. So, we are saying to the private sector that it has to pay its share in developing the people you employ and the people you use.

In which way can the private sector help the education?

In our part of the world, the government usually pays for education but we need to have the private sector subsidized, paying for the tuition of students. We have formed the Friends of the Sorbonne Association that has managed to gather a substantial amount of money to be able to pay for their students. In France, for example, the government pays off all the costs of the student’s education and, if it is not managed, it will be lost. Here, Sorbonne is different; you have to pay a fee as a student to get into the Sorbonne. Only excellent students have the chance to get a scholarship. A substantial number of students cannot afford this so there are institutions that can help pay for them. One way is for the student to secure a job; a student is adopted by a certain establishment; they pay off his tuition fees and after graduation he will work for them. So, in a way, they are investing in humans who, at the end of the day, will work for them. Some institutions like it for fame and a good name, but it does pay off in the end. As you know, in the US and Europe, there are a lot of grants given by foundations and institutions for education. The advancement of the West is based on how much research and development is done and how much education. There is a lot of money put into education and the quality of humans has been considered very intelligently by governments.

You managed to convince Sorbonne and I think Sorbonne was very interested in coming here. Maybe you can give some reasons why they decided for the first time in 750 years to leave its own soil.

France has felt they were left out in engaging with the world and to re-engage with the world, they need to do it not just through business investments but, ideally, through educational and cultural institutions. There are half a billion French-speaking individuals around the world so there is a good chance for France to start expanding again. This is a brilliant time. The UAE is paying, the only cost to us is that of operations and the UAE is willing to pay. I think France will gain a lot because they will attract a lot of people who will learn in French and prepare educated people who are francophones. The multi-cultural mix that we have in the UAE today is a richness that is important in today’s world, especially with globalisation. Sometimes you wake up in a hotel room and you don’t know where you are, it all looks the same. You’ll find that even the reception has people from all over the world. However, I believe France has, for some time, missed the chance to re-engage with the world and they don’t want to miss it again.

Both parties signed an agreement to create what is being created now. Can you tell us what the plan is behind this? What do you want to build here exactly? What is your main goal?

There are never enough words to stress education. What are the challenges for this project? My friend asked me this question. Education is like a sponge; bring 100 universities and you will still find students. The world is growing, today the population is six billion, and without education you can’t get a decent job – that’s the least I can say. So, what we are trying to do is enhance education. At times we do need to establish our own universities, but sometimes you can bring a university from the West and put it on our soil. It will not lose its identity, it will remain what it is and it will also enrich its surroundings. Our goal is to invest in our youngsters, to teach and educate them and develop their minds. If you have a healthy mind, you have a healthy world.

Is that the vision of the Crown Prince? What was the vision of the UAE?

It’s simple. We have a contract with the French to bring the Sorbonne exclusively into the UAE and teach in exactly the same manner and the same way that they teach in Europe and award the same degree with the same spirit, so that we do not affect the Sorbonne. There is an intermingling between the French and the Arabs here. Many of our professors are published writers, they are known in France and Europe. They have admitted to correcting their misconceptions and stereotypes, they have the chance to do their research on-location and connected to the reality rather than hearing it from the news and media. The Arab picture is wrongly portrayed to millions of people around the world. We are considered ignorant, we don’t have a civilization, we have tribes that are killing each other and so on. This is not true. We have had problems in history, as has any other nation, but we hope to correct that picture. To sum up the objectives, I would say that the goal is education. The objectives with that goal could be political, economic, cultural and so on. The university, in the long run, affects all those areas. It has also built a bridge with France, the relationship with France is great. The UAEs relationship with all countries of the world is good, to say the least. We are a peaceful nation. As you can see, prosperity here depends on that – we accept everybody. As long as people respect the freedom of others and the culture of the nation, they are welcome. In fact, you can enjoy freedom here more than many more advanced nations.

What are your future plans? We know there is a campus under construction for 2000 students.

PSUAD – Paris Sorbonne University-Abu Dhabi – is exactly like the authentic Sorbonne so, we teach the same subjects as in France and we have the same departments. The only department we have not opened so far is Music and Musicology. We didn’t find customers for that, but hopefully we will in the coming few years. We are growing fast, in our second year we doubled the number. We are planning to have more than 500 students next year. The campus we are building will be on Al Reem Island, behind the island of Abu Dhabi, close to the town centre, and on the other side will be Saadiyat Island, which is the cultural district, it will have Golden Heights, the Louvre, New York University and Zayed Museum as well. So, in a couple of minutes from the university, you will be on Saadiyat Island or in the middle of town. Our plan is to move into that campus in September 2009, that campus should take between 2000 to 3000 students. Our business plan is to have 2000 students by 2012. We are realistic, we are not over-ambitious and we want to do our work right. If things go better than we expected, we are ready to receive more students and we will be glad to. With no doubt, I feel that this is a great opportunity to attract students to this university from all over the world. It’s not just for UAE nationals; we want the UAE nationals to mix with other nations. At the moment, we have 280 students, including the master’s degree students, at the Sorbonne, from a little less than 50 nations.

What do you think will cause students choosing where to do their studies to be attracted to this university?

You can see how these parts of the world are developing very fast and, as an oil-producing country, we are using our income to develop the nation in the right direction. Our leaders are doing that. So, I think students are coming here because they can secure their jobs. It’s not just the education they are looking for; they might want to come here to improve their future, not just for the degree itself. Also, it costs a lot of money to go to Paris; even if they don’t pay for their education; to live, eat, drink, have pocket money and rent a flat in Paris costs as much as you have to pay for the fees over here. As you see, the Euro is going up like a rocket! In addition, it is easier to come here because the visa and immigration to Europe and to the West is becoming more difficult. So, we say welcome! We are ready to fill this place. I don’t have any worries about competition; there is no need to worry when the level is good. The top students in the UAE and the GCC countries are here. This tells me that quality is always desired.