Abu Dhabi University Undergraduate Research Competition and Proud Zayed University Professors

 This past Thursday was a full day at the Abu Dhabi University 2nd Annual Undergraduate Research Competition - to learn more about it you can visit the website: website (scroll down). I can say that it was a valuable learning experience for the students and gave the mentoring professors moments of intense pride.

The research journey began with many rounds of writing abstracts and then sending them in with all the required documents on February 28 - in all 248 submissions from 21 universities around the UAE were sent in and 100 accepted for paper submission. Three research teams were selected from my Capstone class from the male students and three teams were selected of female students from Dr. Damien Arthur's class to be among the 100 student teams to present at the competition held last Thursday. 

The real hard work began then with wrapping up research and writing the final papers which were submitted on May 2 - then good news arrived when we heard that three teams from our College were selected for the finals and three teams for poster presentations. (Needless to say the College of Business from Zayed University Abu Dhabi was very well represented!) 

The preparation for the big day involved many practice sessions and perhaps more than a little stress - this was a first for all the students involved. The day began early, and all the students were early. We looked at the program first thing... 

All the College of Business teams were in the same session after lunch

Required Selfie!

None of our teams presented in the morning, but many of the students (and of course Damien and I) attended the presentations of teams from around the UAE. I know my students were a bit surprised how interesting it was and how time passed quicker than they imagined it would.

After lunch we got to the room early to get good seats - a selfie and photos followed of course.

Waiting to present

The first group presented on Emiraitisation and the public sector - they knew their stuff and did very well.

Waiting for questions (yes, the research process involves a lot of waiting)

Published abstract

Published abstract

The second group presented on entrepreneurship and Emirati youth - and demonstrated they understood the issues and were ready to answer all the questions posed of them.

The entrepreneurial process

Then Damien's group of female students presented and not only did they impress me, they impressed the judges and were awarded first place in the business track! Their research involved looking into the perceptions of expats of Emirati employees and they handled a sensitive topic extremely well.

The ladies with their cheque! (Photo courtesy of D. Arthur)

Published abstract (photo courtesy of D. Arthur)

From January, this has been an interesting and rewarding journey on the research path... I am super proud of the effort and courage to do something new on the part of all my students. I will let Damien's tweet tell you how he felt! "I have never been more proud of my students than I am today. 1st prize in the UAE student research comp!" 

Congratulations to all the students and I hope you remember how much fun this was and that you encourage your younger siblings and friends to participate in the coming years... and even continue the research journey yourself :)

Emiratisation Research by Young Emiratis

This blog post provides a snap shot of a Senior Project completed by four recent graduates of Zayed University in Abu Dhabi. They saw the issue of mandating a percentage of Emirati employees in public and private companies operating in the UAE as a financial, social and cultural issue. Their interpretation of the problem, where they looked in the literature for guidance and their proposed solutions follow.

Emiratisation: Lessons Learned from Affirmative Action

Ali Ahmed Al Dhaheri

Ali Hussain Al Khoori

Mohammed Humaid Al Dhaheri

Mohammed Saif Al Zaabi

Problem:

Official Emiratisation began in 2000 to ensure full employment of UAE Nationals and also to decrease dependency on the expatriate population which represents over 85% of the working population. There is still a need to invest in the training and skills development of Emiratis to ensure that those hired are not just to fill quotas, but to contribute to the success of the organisation and their future careers.

Looking to the Literature:

Affirmative action research is established and has been used to create government and organisational policies in much of the Western world. While affirmative action aims to right unjust hiring practices for "under privileged" populations there are similarities to be drawn with the struggles of Emiratisation as they are both examples of "positive discrimination".

The issue of underemployment of Nationals in the Arabian Gulf Region has been met with similar programs in Saudi Arabia, Qatar and Oman. The greatest successes have come with a focus on providing training and high level education and professional development to Locals.

Research:

Recent graduates want to work for government organisations - for job security, better pay, better working conditions and a greater sense of contributing to the development of the Nation. Private companies are seen as "not welcoming" to Locals and "only" seem to hire for positions in public relations and HR. 

An interview with an architect of a successful Emiratisation program with a private company in the banking sector suggests that hiring recent graduates in a group, training them together and providing career development opportunities and the possibilities of career and professional advancement seems to "work".

Some recommendations:

The students wrote that the dignity of all work (not just white collar jobs) well done needs to be recognized by Emirates. (Not everyone is qualified to have a desk job with a corner office) Moreover, self-dependency will only come through hard work on the part of Emiratis and an investment in education and skills training by companies and organisations operating in the UAE.

Their research poster  at the National Day Celebrations