Uni signs £6.5m Middle East deal
THE University of Central Lancashire (UCLan) has signed two international agreements worth a combined £6.5m to deliver courses in the Middle East.
The first of the contracts will see UCLan extend its long-term partnership with the International College of Engineering and Management (ICEM) in the Sultanate of Oman for a further five years.
It means students will be able to complete entire undergraduate degree courses in Oman, whereas they were previously required to study part of the programmes in Preston.
UCLan and ICEM have been partners in Oman for more than 15 years delivering unique undergraduate degree courses in fire safety engineering; well engineering; facilities management and health, safety and environmental management.
A separate deal with the Ministry of Interior of Qatar will see UCLan deliver fire safety engineering management courses from the new state-of-the-art Ras Laffan Emergency and Safety College in Doha.
UCLan will work closely with Qatar Civil Defence to develop a range of courses which will utilise the £302m facility, the Middle East’s main training institution for fire services and emergency responders.
The collaboration, the University’s first in Qatar, will be led by a dedicated team of UCLan staff based at the college working in partnership with a vocational provider, Texas A & M Engineering.
It is also planned that existing UCLan students based in Preston will have the opportunity to visit the college and use its cutting edge facilities to expand their own knowledge and experience.
Pro chancellor and chair of the University board David Taylor, who led the visits to Qatar and Oman to agree the deals, said: “The extension of our partnership with ICEM is a real milestone and evidence of its past success, while the new relationship with Qatar Civil Defence will complement this and the University’s other global partnerships, such as those in China and Mauritius.”
