University Of Bahrain SPG - Bahrain Schools Guide

UNIVERSITY OF BAHRAIN

About The University : An Introduction

The University of Bahrain informally Bahrain University, abbreviated as UOB) is the largest public university in the Kingdom of Bahrain with campuses in Sakhir, Isa Town and Manama, the university has more than 20,000 registered students and over 2000 staff members. The university is a member of the International Association of Universities and the Islamic Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization.

The university has three campuses. Its main campus in Sakhir covers an area of 103657m2 and houses all the colleges except the Colleges of Health Science and Engineering.

The College of Health Sciences is based in a 10,000 m2 (110,000 sq ft) campus next to the Salmaniya Medical Complex. The College of Engineering is based in a 10,000 m2 (110,000 sq ft) campus alongside the Bahrain Polytechnic.

Technology and the rapidly changing external environment, which is transforming teaching and research, are challenging the traditional view of the university. Students and wider society require year round access to high quality courses and flexible modes of delivery. The economic context of the GCC and challenges that we currently face of growing the private sector are also challenges that the University of Bahrain must respond to through focusing on producing a high quality and skilled workforce and the next generation of leaders.

The University has a clear focus on a number of areas that will be key to our success, including the newly established teaching and leadership unit to advance our teaching methods and curricula. Targeted and innovative approaches to research through international and industry collaboration will promote our reputation both regionally and beyond. University of Bahrain has significant international reach and global standing through its students and graduates, research and academic partnerships. Technology is key not only to enhance teaching and learning but also to create a SMART campus that is fitting with the digital age that we now live in. The University of Bahrain is central to the economic growth of Bahrain through offering programs and courses that are aligned with the national economic strategy whilst also ensuring sustainability through operating as a commercial and entrepreneurial university.

The College Of Applied Science

The College of Applied Studies was established on February 5th, 2005 according to a decision made by the University of Bahrain Board of Trustees in its 11th regular meeting with a clear vision of producing highly qualified and very well-trained graduates at the Associate Diploma level for the local as well as the Gulf labor markets.

The College has three departments, The Administrative, Technical and Engineering Department. The Engineering Department offering Associate Diploma in Electrical Engineering and Mechanical Engineering in the Isa Town Campus. The Technical Department offering Associate Diploma in Networks Administration, Cybersecurity Operations and Web and Multimedia Development. The Administrative Department offering Associate Diploma in Business Administration, Accounting and Office Management in the Sakhir Campus.

In its efforts to provide its students with the best skills and knowledge possible, the College of Applied Studies introduced the Associate diploma in Cybersecurity operation and Associate diploma in Accounting programs, which are two unique programs designed and offered to deliver upon the needs of the labor market, and be significant providers of market ready students with skills that match the aims of the university’s strategies, the national economic objective, and the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).

The College Of Arts

The College of Arts is one of the first colleges that were established in the University of Bahrain. The late Amir His Highness Shaikh Isa bin Salman Al Khalifa issued in May 24, 1986 the Emiri Decree (No. 12 of 1986) establishing the University of Bahrain by merging the Gulf College of Technology which was established in 1968, with the University College of Science, Arts and Education, which was established in 1978.

Following the founding of the university, four colleges were established: College of Arts and Sciences, College of Education, College of Business Administration and College of Engineering. In May 1990, the Board of Trustees of the University issued a decision that divided the College of Arts and Science to two separate colleges, and thus the University comprised five colleges: College of Arts and Sciences, College of Engineering, College of Education and College of Business Administration. Later, the College of Law, the College of Applied Studies, the College of Physical Education and Physiotherapy, and most recently the Bahrain Teachers College were added to the University.

In its early years and after separation from the College of Science, the College consisted, of three departments: Department of Arabic and Islamic Studies, Department of Foreign Languages and Literatures, and Department of General Studies, until 1999 when it was agreed to restructure the academic departments in the College.

The Department of General Studies was changed into the Department of Social Sciences and its Fine Arts part was appended to a new department, i.e. the Department of Information, Tourism and the Arts. The French, German and Japanese languages were transferred to the Department of Foreign Languages and Literatures to include them alongside English.

About a decade ago the name of the Department of Foreign Languages and Literatures was changed to the Department of English Language and Literature, with the teaching of other languages in specialized centers under the umbrella of the College. A few years ago, the English Language Center and also the Bahrain Credit Media Center were subsumed under the President’s Office.

In the year 2009, the Department of Psychology was attached to the College of Arts. In 2016 it was decided that the all language centers be consolidated under the Center of Languages which is also subsumed under the President’s Office. Currently, the College of Arts includes five departments, namely Department of Arabic and Islamic Studies, Department of Social Sciences, Department of English Language and Literature, Department of Mass Communication, Tourism and Fine Arts, and Department of Psychology..

The Bahrain Teachers College

Affiliated with the University of Bahrain, the Bahrain Teachers College (BTC) is responsible for all teacher preparation and academically-based in-service teacher professional development in the Kingdom of Bahrain.

The College offers undergraduate and postgraduate programs, as well as professional development for in-service educators, with the commitment to provide leadership in the modernization of Bahrain’s educational system. The language of instruction at BTC is English and Arabic.

The Bahrain Teachers College aims to provide and support highly qualified educators in accordance with international standards. By attracting and educating among the brightest and most ambitious students in the Kingdom of Bahrain for initial teacher education, and by working closely with practicing educators for their continuous improvement, the Bahrain Teachers College aspires to make a noticeable impact in the quality of education in Bahrain’s schools. In addition, as an academic institution, the College also produces research that contributes to high quality education in Bahrain and beyond.

BTC was founded in 2008 through a partnership with Singapore’s National Institute of Education (NIE) in which the NIE provided a curriculum and policy foundation for the operation of the BTC. After a decade, the BTC is forging its own identity with the continued support of the Ministry of Education (MoE) as the sole employer of all BTC graduates, as well as the Office of the First Deputy Prime Minister and the Economic Development Board of Bahrain.

The College Of Business Administration

In alignment with the University’s mission, the College of Business Administration updated its mission in 2020, with the aim “to prepare and inspire tomorrow’s managers, and to provide excellence and innovation in education-research, that have an impact on Bahrain and the region”. This mission has been altered, by taking into consideration the inputs from faculty members, students, alumni, employers and external environmental factors among other stakeholders. The mission summarizes the College’s shared values and, in particular, innovation, excellence, teamwork, ethics and internationalization. The College’s vision is “to be recognized as a leader in business education in the region by offering the highest quality of teaching and learning, research, service, and external engagement “.

The College 2020-2024 Strategy is outlined in four fundamental goals that are bounded by the five values. The first goal is to “Strengthen External Engagement and Collaboration”. This goal aims to strengthen external engagement and collaboration; to achieve this the College will extend external collaboration with the College stakeholders and engage industry, associations, and professional societies in curriculum development. This goal is mapped to the second, fourth and fifth strategic pillars that support the University’s vision of becoming a world-class university. These strategic pillars are Leading-edge human capital; Dynamic, innovative, and entrepreneurial environment; and Local engagement and international reputation.

In addition, the second goal is to “Enhance Graduate Knowledge, Skills, and Competencies”. The College aims to enhance graduate knowledge, skills, and competencies by mapping all the academic programs with professional certifications and review their content to ensure that outcomes are in line with national and regional labor market needs. Also, the College aims to improve the practical aspect of learning, enhancing graduate skills such as leadership, teamwork, negotiation, conflict management, and develop the graduates’ entrepreneurial skills. This goal is mapped to the first and seventh UoB strategic pillars; namely, World-class learning and teaching, and a Transformative environment.

Moreover, the third goal is to “Raise Staff Performance”. The College aims to improve staff performance and to maintain an efficient student/faculty ratio that would help to lighten the faculty teaching load. Also, the College will develop staff capabilities, IT skills, and increase research activities. This goal is mapped to the first and third strategic pillars. These pillars are World-class learning and teaching, and Research with national and regional impact.

Finally, the fourth goal is to “Advance the College’s Visibility and Reputation”. In order to advance visibility and reputation, the College will work to achieve the AACSB re-accreditation, EQUIS and AMBA accreditations as well as meeting BQA indicators. The College will promote joint research publications with researchers from other universities and develop strategic collaborations with reputable international partners, institutions, and organizations to strengthen the postgraduate offerings. This goal is mapped to the fifth and sixth UoB strategic pillars; Local engagement and international reputation, and Bahrain’s economic diversification and growth.

The College Of Engineering

The vision of the College of Engineering is to be among the leading colleges in the region and to maintain a respectful international status and reputation by sustaining a high quality of engineering education and scientific research.

The mission of the College of Engineering is to educate students for positions of leadership and innovation in engineering, architecture, interior design and related fields; widening the horizon of engineering knowledge through original research, developing and transferring technologies to serve the local and regional needs and to benefit the public through service to industry, government, and the engineering profession.

The college programs have gone through continuous improvements and reviews and got full confidence from the Education and Training Quality National Authority (BQA) for its undergraduate programs. The programs were successfully placed on the National Qualifications Framework at NQF-Level 8. Moreover, the college programs are comprehensively and periodically reviewed by international accreditation commissions.

Our engineering graduates are empowered with essential skills to effectively contribute towards improving the productivity of the Bahraini economy. The feedback from employers and external stakeholders confirms their confidence with qraduates technical and leadership skills.

The College of Engineering is located in the Isa Town campus, but the plan to move to the Sakhir Campus is in progress

The College Of Health And Sport Sciences

The CHSS has been offering BSc. degree in Nursing, and post-basic diplomas in the specialties of Midwifery, Community Nursing, Psychiatric Nursing, Emergency Nursing and Cardiac Care Nursing.

In September 2015, the Allied Health programs were upgraded to the BSc. degree in Pharmacy, Medical Laboratory Sciences, Radiologic Technology – Diagnostic and Public Health. The Dental Hygiene program, however, continues to offer the Associate Degree. In the year 2018, the College managed to start Master degree programs in Adult Nursing and Physiotherapy.

The College Of Information Technology

The College of Information Technology was established in 2003 and since then it pursues to be known as a world-class college that excel in learning, research and entrepreneurship in information technology.

The College of Information technology seeks to contribute directly to the economic growth and development of Bahrain by preparing graduates that are internationally recognized and are regionally competitive within their field of specialization, supported by leading edge learning and teaching, research with national and regional impact, local engagement and international reputation.

The College of Information Technology started offering its programs in the early 1990s. Currently, the college offers six BSc programs, which are BSc in the Computer Science, Software Engineering, Computer Science-Cloud Computing, Computer Engineering, Network Engineering, and Information Systems. All those programs are designed to be aligned and benchmarked with the curricula recommendations of professional societies in IT such as the ACM, IEEE, and AIS.

The BSc programs in Computer Engineering, Computer Science, and Information Systems have been accredited by ABET since 2010. The Computer Engineering program have been re-accredited in 2014 and again in 2020. The Computer Science and Information Systems programs have been re-accredited in 2017.

Along with the ABET accreditation, the College programs have undergone continuous improvements and reviews through several programs including the UNDP program in 2003 and received a full confidence from the Education and Training Quality National Authority for all its undergraduate programs in 2014 and 2020.

Furthermore, the Computer Engineering, Computer Science and Information Systems programs were placed successfully on the National Qualifications Framework. It is worth mentioning that the Computer Science Program was among the first batch in Bahrain to be placed on the National Qualifications Framework.

To be in lined with the changing needs of the labor market, the College of Information Technology continuously updates its programs and offer new programs. In has 2017, the college offered BSc programs in Network Engineering and Software Engineering. In 2020, the BSc in Computer Science-Cloud Computing was offered with partnership with AWS.

The College of Information Technology offers three Master programs which are MSc programs in Information Technology, Cyber Security, and Software Engineering. The MSc programs target IT professionals and provide advanced topics in the field of IT.

Moreover, the College of Information Technology offers a PhD program in Computing and Information Sciences.

Furthermore, the College provides leadership in research and innovation locally and regionally through its applied research and engagement with the IT industry in Bahrain. Several research groups work within the College and they serve the community through contractual research, consulting services, and application and software development. These include groups in areas such as Artificial Intelligence, Machine Learning, Cyber Security, Mobile Computing, and Applied Data Science.

The College Of Law

The Council of Trustees has issued Resolution No. 159 on 6^th of March, 2002 concerning the establishment of the Faculty of Law to be the minaret of Education and Science in the University of Bahrain. Before the establishment of the Faculty of Law, the study of law was limited to a section established in 1999 in the faculty of Business Administration. The faculty of law aspires to be the center of legal education in the Kingdom of Bahrain in the light of the rapid developments of the legal domain.

Since its establishment, the faculty understands that education, science, creativity, invention and development are important and essential tools for achieving the goals of the educational policy in Bahrain. This is reflected on its law curricula and its scientific contents. The faculty’s curricula are taught in two sections, namely Private Law section and Public Law section. The faculty pays high regard to comprise theoretical study and practical study. This is evident in its teaching methods, design of the faculty’s building and the rooms dedicated for the practical training (moot courts).

The Faculty of Law, University of Bahrain, achieves its educational mission by qualifying its students to work in legislative, legal, and judicial authorities and institutions, by providing them with science and practical legal knowledge.

The College of Law consists of two academic departments: the Public Law Department and the Private Law Department. The Legal Clinic is affiliated to the College of Law with the aim of providing law students with hands-on-legal experience to equip them with the various legal skills needed for the labor market.

The College Of Science

Our College recognizes that science today is both a global and a multidisciplinary endeavor. Thus, we are working within and across departments to provide educational and research experiences in cutting-edge fields.

Our curricula for the B.Sc. and M.Sc. programs were designed in line with similar programs in regional and international universities and are responsive to the requirements of the international accreditation standards. Currently, all the B.Sc. programs have the full confidence and are mapped to the National Qualification Framework by the Education and Training Quality Authority. Also, the B.Sc. programs in Physics, Biological Sciences, Mathematics, and Statistics and Operational Research are accredited internationally by ASIIN (European level) and the B.Sc. program in Chemistry is accredited internationally by the Canadian Society of Chemistry.

Our College is keen that our graduates have the necessary skills to work and compete in the market, and I am proud to say that many of our graduates have succeeded in securing leadership positions in the public and private sectors. The College of Science degrees are well recognized on a global level, and they prepare students to join the most prestigious universities in the world to continue their higher studies, and we have many successful examples of that.