Experiencing Public Universities Through the Eyes of a Current Student

Interview with Jamal Alhaj, a Zayed University International Affairs graduate

Short biography:

Jamal Alhaj is a civil servant working in the field of government and international affairs; he specialises in international and government cooperation with a focus on economic development. Passionate about research he aspires to one day be an academic.

Can you please introduce yourself?

“My name is Jamal Alhaj. I graduated from Zayed University in 2017 with a Degree in International Affairs and I currently work for the Federal Government.

What made you choose to get your undergraduate degree at ZU?

To be totally honest, I would have never chosen a public university, I wanted to choose a university that was a bit far from home, but not too far. Wanting to feel independent, and I saw it as an opportunity to break out of my comfort zone and explore my options. The choices I had were to either study in Dubai or Abu Dhabi. I decided to attend a university in Dubai since at the time, the latter fits my personal situation better.

Did you go to a public or private school? Did this impact your performance in the university/ did it help you adapt to being a university student easier?

I went to both public and private schools. The only time I attended public school was during my senior year of high school. My school experience didn’t really help me adapt to university life; in fact, it did not impact my university performance whatsoever. Our schooling system needs to undergo massive reforms. Some individuals that private schools prepare you for university,; based on my observation and personal experience, it didn’t. Especially when it comes to language skills, private Arabic schools provide poor English education, while English private schools provide poor Arabic language education. Public schools on the other hand would need to undergo extensive reforms.

What were your expectations before joining Zayed University, and did the stigma around federal universities change your expectations?

I was really nervous at first about going to an institution with a majority Emirati student body. Due to some preconceptions caused by my previous experiences in the public high school I attended; I am glad that I was wrong; you could say that I found some sparks in the dark that changed my opinion. After all, many academic and successful individuals are ZU alumni. Although the institution may have its issues, at the very least it is making strides with its reforms.

What were your intentions and aims before entering Zayed? Did they change after joining the University? Why?

I wanted to major in Communication and Media Sciences, and pursue a career in Journalism. At the time I had this ambition of becoming like US Journalist Anderson Cooper, however, upon joining the university, the option was not available at the Dubai campus at the time, for the male students at least. Furthermore I was not willing to move to the AD Campus to pursue a degree in Media & Communications. My academic advisor at the time, A. Davis, advised me to consider International Relations. Anthropologist Dr. A. Reichenbach also managed to pursue me to study Int. Relations. I took their advice and I enjoyed that 3.5 years of Int. Affairs/Relations. No longer wanting to be a journalist, I had my doubts that I would find a job in my field after graduation. Thankfully I was lucky enough to have found an amazing job for the Federal Government. Other than my degree, my past experience working for the local government has helped me in pursuing a career in Int. Relations. A year from now, I am planning on applying for a Master’s degree in IR at Sorbonne University.

What is it actually like being a student at Zayed University?

Though some things could have been different, I can’t say I didn’t enjoy my experience there. The faculty and staff are really supportive, the students are wonderful, and I have definitely learnt many valuable life skills during my time there. I joined the Peer Assistance Leaders Program or PALs — where I worked as a tutor. — and have had the pleasure of meeting its founder and coordinator; my former boss, and current friend, David Kerr. He’s been supportive from the very beginning. Seeing my potential he helped develop from the shy person I was, and grow to the bold and confident person I am today. I am indeed very grateful for the people I met at ZU and the opportunities it gave me.

What opportunities were you exposed to at ZU, you wouldn’t find somewhere else?

Other than my major, the Peer Assistance Leaders Program is one of the best things Zayed University offered me. Thanks to it, I was given the opportunity to attend many events, in addition to having the opportunity to meet many amazing people. Other than that, I also joined the Undergraduate Research Scholars Program (URSP), where I had the pleasure of meeting the Psychologist, Dr. Joana Stocker who became my research mentor. The program has given me the chance to dive into the fields of Social and Educational Psychology which has broadened my understanding of motivational and self-perception profiles within an academic and the differences between genders when it comes to academic performance. Thanks to the URSP, we got to travel to Canada to present my findings, which I must say was quite an extraordinary experience. I am quite successful in my career, I can’t forget the extraordinary professors who influenced my political attitude, ideology, and culture which has helped shame me today. Educators and Academics such as Dr. Justin Gibbins, and former diplomat Sheikha Najla Al Qassimi, who fostered critical thinking and open discussions in her classes. There others as well, but the two I mentioned, I am very grateful for.

Does being in a public university allow you to have enough room for personal growth and development?

Well, my experience did somehow, though this is completely subjective. Due to sociopolitical and socio-economic reasons, I decided to push myself and participate in university events. I had to push myself for “my future’s sake”. High school did little to prepare me for life and the real world. I basically had to pick myself up once I started university. Wanting to have a full university experience, I didn’t want to just take the required courses and leave. I wanted to succeed in life, thus I pushed myself to look for opportunities, do the best I can, and stand out from the crowd. Contrary to what many people may believe, things don’t just get handed out to you. You catch it before it runs.

What are the pros and cons about being segregated? How would it have been better if it was mixed?

Personally, though this may sound harsh, I think the only positive thing that stems out of segregation is that it puts conservative parents’ minds at ease. I still am against segregation and think that it’s a bit selfish and a tool for some people to control their children’s lives. Men and women are not allowed to socialize naturally. Now, does that sound normal? Unsegregated educational institutions should be a safe zone for learning both academically and socially. After all, the workplace is not segregated, neither from meetings, to business trips. To reiterate, universities should be centres of academic development and proper and professional socialisation. Segregation cannot be good for social or psychological development, or for gaining proper social skills.

Do you think there is enough variety of courses, majors in public universities to accommodate everyone?

For males in the university’s Dubai Campus, only a few majors and courses were available to us. As I said before, I originally wanted to enroll in the College of Communication and Media Sciences, but was unavailable to male students. We weren’t given the chance to minor or double major. Even though I was fortunate to find an alternative that was honestly better than the former. Others had to transfer or settle for majors they did not want. Thankfully, ZU and federal universities are adding more majors and concentrations. I believe, higher educational institutions should run a survey asking their students what they would want to study, courses that may or may not be added, doing proper studies of what is in demand out in the real world, what do employers need; in addition to benchmarking other universities, and see what may be adopted or dropped.

Did the university give you the confidence you needed to adapt to work life?

Thanks to ZU, I was exposed to a lot of people and experiences that somehow prepared me for work life. I went into cyber politics when I first started working. It was something very new to me; it’s a niche field. I needed to do a lot of learning, and thankfully my professors prepared me to do a lot of political analysis. Peer Assistance Leaders (PALs) events exposed me to a lot of people from the political field, as I learned how to act professionally in front of politicians, diplomats and other VIPs. My university experience have made it easier for me to adapt in the professional world. My university at least made it easier for me to pick up on the necessary professional skills I gained the years I’ve been working; as I’ve been working since my first year of uni, that too helped.

If you had the opportunity to repeat this experience or change the past, either in Zayed University or let’s say going to another university, what would you do differently?

Given who I am right now, ZU had some role in shaping me. Most of the people I hold dear were my ZU, peers and I wouldn’t change that. Most of the changes could be easily implemented if there was no segregation. As for what I could change; well, I was not able to continue my Korean Language classes as it was only supposed to be offered to women in my campus.Again, I was not willing to move to the AD Campus if I wanted to continue it. I would have loved to have minored in psychology or biology if it was available, then again, I would have to move to the main campus in Abu Dhabi. There were some essential courses in my discipline that weren’t offered in the male section; again, the reason does not need repeating. We could have gotten more support in our academic ambitions and development.

After graduating from ZU, was the Alumni career office Active?

The alumni office is doing a great job, and I think it’s due to the fact that many of the employees are ZU alumni themselves. They are doing Zayed University a huge favour. They call from time to time to update us while keeping track of career development, in addition to informing us of upcoming seminars or available jobs with partnered organisations. Moreover, they’re very active with their publishing and email newsletters with topics that I am at least interested in.

Can Zayed University compete with some of the best private universities in the country (NYUAD AUS)?

ZU has the potential to compete with these strong universities; based on my observation ZU has a wonderful environment that fosters artistic creativity. Nevertheless, I think ZU should focus more on becoming a research university, using its resources to further foster an environment of innovation in both STEM & HSS disciplines. Perhaps partnering with older, more established universities and learning from their methods can propel ZU to becoming a highly competitive university. Although, I must say, H.E. Noura Al Kaabi is doing an extraordinary job reshaping ZU into an innovative university that can be up to par with other institutions like NYU or Sorbonne.