For three weeks the Institute hosted the first annual summer school for students from Zayed University.
As well as an intense academic programme, the students had a busy extra-curricular schedule of activities with a focus on cultural, social and political study-visits in and around Dundee.
These included a visit to the Scottish Parliament, Grampian Television, Dundee City Council Chambers, D.C. Thompson (publishers) and a number of Scottish castles, cities, towns and villages.
An important part of the visit included an intensive and busy programme of academic sessions each weekday morning on a variety of topics.
Most classes were led by academic staff at the Al-Maktoum Institute, alongside invited speakers on specialist topics from other institutions, including the University of Dundee, the City Council, and local politicians.
The academic programme involved talks, interactive question and answer sessions, small group work, and class debates.
The aim of the programme was to introduce students to some of the range of academic issues that are researched and taught at the Al-Maktoum Institute, as well as to contribute to the students’ development of skills in global awareness. This included encouraging skills in consideration of multiculturalism, Islam in global perspectives, perceiving and reacting to differences from an informed and reasoned point of view, and encouraging a critical awareness of the implications and benefits of cultural interaction.
The programme included:
- English language and cultural vocabulary in Scotland, David Catterick, University of Dundee
- Scottish and UK Political Systems, talks by Ernie Ross, Member of UK Parliament for Dundee West and Kate MacLean, Member of Scottish Parliament
- Introduction to the history and cultures of Scotland and Dundee, Ian Flett, City Archivist at Dundee City Council
- Multiculturalism: religious and cultural diversity in the UK, Prof Malory Nye, Al-Maktoum Institute
- Islam and Muslims in the UK, Prof Malory Nye, Al-Maktoum Institute
- Western and Muslim Relations, Prof Malory Nye, Prof Abd al-Fattah El-Awaisi and Dr JP Larsson, Al-Maktoum Institute
- Introduction to the new field of inquiry of Islamic Jerusalem Studies, Prof Abd al-Fattah El-Awaisi, Al-Maktoum Institute
- Practical workshops on Digital Imaging and Traditional Scottish Baking at Dundee College
- Representatives from Al-Maktoum Institute, University of Dundee, and University of Abertay Dundee to talk about opportunities for postgraduate studies in Dundee
Students completing the academic programme were awarded with a certificate of completion at the end of the summer school.
