|
|
|
September 2005
|
INTERNATIONAL NEWS |
||
AU-Nigeria University Inaugural Year Begins Nearly 150 Nigerian and international students walked into ABTI-American University of Nigeria (AAUN) classrooms on Sept. 12 to begin their inaugural school year. Located in Yola, Nigeria, this private university includes three founding schools: Arts and Sciences; Entrepreneurship and Business Management; Information Technology and Communications. Students from the entering class of 2009 will enroll in general education courses and a year-long course in entrepreneurship designed by Dr. Ahmad Hosseini, dean of AAUN’s business school. “Our students will be the best entrepreneurs in Nigeria when they have completed our freshman course,” said Hosseini. “They will know how to write a business plan, produce and sell a product, keep accounts, and invest profits back into the business.” AAUN is different from other schools in Nigeria that follow the British model, which calls for students to declare a major before beginning classes, with little opportunity to change concentrations during the course of their attendance. AAUN chooses to give students a broad and interactive education before requiring them to declare a major. Each AAUN student will be given a complimentary laptop. High-speed wireless Internet access is available throughout campus, indoors and out, much like technology-savvy AU. Classrooms are wireless and equipped with data projectors. The goal AAUN had in mind when creating innovative courses and implementing state-of-the-art equipment was “to produce a new generation of West African leaders,” said Louis Goodman, dean of the School of International Service at AU. AAUN administration anticipates a growth to 2,000 students within five years, and they expect enrollment to double to 4,000 during the subsequent five years as new schools in law and engineering open. “A year ago, there were no classrooms, no new dormitories, not even an Internet connection,” said Dr. David Huwiler, the university’s first president. Eighteen months have gone by since Nigerian Vice President Atiku Abubakar first envisioned a university that would fuel a knowledge-based economy. His wife, Jennifer Abubakar, SIS/MA '94, was instrumental in helping AAUN and AU work together. With the help of AU faculty and staff, Dr. Robert Pastor, a member of AAUN’s Board of Trustees and vice president of International Affairs at AU, and Patrick Ukata, SIS/PhD '91, professor and manager of AU’s liaison office, were able to recruit professors, staff and an entire senior management team early enough to oversee the construction of the campus and organize a curriculum in time for the 2005 fall semester. AU played a similar role in helping to establish and develop American University-Sharjah in the United Arab Emirates in 1997, which currently enrolls 3,500 students. Goodman said he expects for AAUN and AU students and faculty to be exchanged just as AU and American University-Sharjah are doing, which is the first step in becoming a global university. For more information about AAUN, visit: http://www.abti-american.edu.ng/ -Tara Shlimowitz ‘08 |
||
