Does your university as a body have a policy on supporting academic freedom (freedom to choose areas of research and to speak and teach publicly about the area of their research)?
Research at Canadian University
Dubai Canadian University Dubai is a research-focused institution with a broad portfolio of academic expertise. Across our Faculties and Departments – Management, Communication, Environmental Health Sciences, Electrical Engineering, Computer Engineering and Computational Sciences, Architecture and Interior Design – the University contributed significantly to the wider research community. The Research Hub at CUD was established to build a worldwide international research collaboration to enrich the university studies with the sustainable development goals and the wellbeing and engagement with the local, regional, and international societies as part of the University’s social responsibility. The Hub remains open for international calls for multidisciplinary research collaboration.
Goals & Objectives
The research initiatives and projects conducted at Canadian University Dubai are aimed at:
- Providing a means to reach out to student communities, practitioners in the workplace, and the business community and to raise awareness of the great opportunities and important challenges that research at Canadian University Dubai offers.
- Fostering and facilitating a broad multi-disciplinary involvement and an inter-disciplinary collaboration.
- Creating a web-based resource repository to facilitate research, education, and outreach to the student community.
- Stimulating industry/business/community interest and investment in university research by showing clear pathways to business benefits of research results.
- The success of the research initiatives at the University will be measured by:
- Collaboration with government institutions (local, regional, and international), industry and other stakeholders to engage in research activities that have a direct impact on the UAE economy and society.
- Providing answers and solutions, as a research university, to the needs of the sustainable development goals (SDGs) and the NGOs
- Engaging our students at all levels into research, to gain broader knowledge and good understanding of the nature and importance of research in their field and education.
- Providing an enabling research environment to the faculty and student body in order to remain both research-active and competitive.
- Organizing International Conferences and Workshops to serve as forums for researchers and practitioners to exchange, network, present and discuss their work, as well as to contribute to the expansion of knowledge and to encourage research initiatives among the community of the University.
Research Partnerships
Through the Office of Research and Excellence, Canadian University Dubai continually seeks to foster research collaborations with both academic and business partners to generate knowledge that will be of benefit to wider society. This provides a unique opportunity for researchers within the University to contribute to first class research programs in collaboration with their peers in Canada, the US, Europe, Asia, and other international settings.
Research initiatives are implemented in close collaboration with partner universities from Canada, including:
- University of New Brunswick.
- Brock University.
- Trent University.
- University of Prince Edward Island.
- Cape Breton University.
- Royal Roads University.
- University of Windsor Canada.
- Additional research partnerships have been initiated with:
- Universiti Teknologi Malaysia (UTM)
- Multimedia University
- Inovative International College
- University Teknologi Malaysia (UiTM)
- Chung-Ang University Korea
- Hanyang University Erica
- University of Canada, Egypt
- The Hashemite University Jordan
- The Chicago School of Professional Psychology
- MoU Universite de Lyon (UdL)
- La Rochelle Université
- University of Petroleum and Energy Studies in India
- American university of the Middle East (AUM) in Kuwait
- Applied Science University (ASU) in Bahrain
These partnerships make the university a portal to Canadian and other international education systems and give Canadian University Dubai a global stature.
Institutional Research and Planning
The purpose of the Office of Institutional Research and Planning (IRP) is to support and sustain institution-wide continuous improvement efforts at Canadian University Dubai. This is accomplished by using relevant, up-to-date information to support assessments, decision making and policy formation.
IRP supports business sustainability through continuous improvement of the University’s internal processes, via comprehensive and integrated Strategic and Performance Management methodologies targeted at Students and Academic Programs, Employee and Financial outcomes.
Vision & Mission
VISION: To be a reliable strategic partner that provides institutional data, information and knowledge to drive quality assurance and promote performance driven learning and services for the advancement of the University.
MISSION: To ensure accurate, useful information and the availability of the appropriate tools for institutional planning, decision making, academic assessment and operational improvement; and to coordinate these services in an objective, systematic, thorough and transparent manner, in direct support of the Canadian University Dubai Strategic Plan.
The key Behaviors of IRP that supports CUD’s core values (PRIDE) are:
- Ethical: We are principled in delivering our services with full transparency and commitment.
- Strategic: We will ensure clear lines of sight towards the University’s strategic direction in implementing our action plan.
- Quality: We provide secured reliable data, analysis, and information for reporting, planning, and decision making.
- Efficient: We use our resources wisely.
Functions
- To facilitate Canadian University Dubai strategic planning and performance monitoring, focusing on the alignment towards the vision, mission and strategic goals.
- To facilitate all aspects related to accreditation including standards compliance, applications, reviews and self-evaluation documents related to the CAA.
- To manage all institutional surveys and evaluation and close the loop to provide information and measure the impact of the related performance gaps.
- To conduct research and benchmarking to ensure state-of-the-art knowledge acquisition, application and preservation.
The goal of the institutional effectiveness program at Canadian University Dubai is to ensure that the strategy is being developed and managed via SMART measures of academic, service, and administrative units in a consistent and transparent manner.
The Office is itself a service office with the mandate to help administrators design, conduct, analyze, and ultimately direct planning through these assessment activities. ‘Closing the loop’, whereby evaluative findings are incorporated into the planning processes, is the ultimate goal of any assessment activity at a university and is essential for the continued improvement of services and academic quality at Canadian University Dubai.
Please contact the office at irp@cud.ac.ae if you have any questions about assessment, accreditation, or any service related to development and planning.
Independent Study
An independent study course should be taken as an elective, used for individual pursuit of topics within or beyond a student’s major field of study which transcend the regularly available curriculum. It will normally involve research, primary source reading, or field work. When planning for independent study, the student and his or her advisor should strive to maintain a balance between this mode of study and other elective courses. A disproportionate number of independent study courses will tend to prevent a student from taking other elective courses which are equally important to scholarly development. The institution must limit that grant of such courses to 6 semester hours for programs below the bachelor’s degree and 9 semester hours for a bachelor’s degree.
Credit and Grade Point Average Guidelines and Requirements
Matriculated students who have completed at least 50% of their program requirements are eligible for independent study. A minimum cumulative grade point average of 2.5 is required, subject to waiver by the Faculty Dean. The faculty sponsor is responsible for checking the student’s grade point average and determining that the student has the ability to plan and execute a long-range project. Departments may establish additional criteria for initial approval of, and supervision of, independent study projects.
The Independent Study Course
An independent study contract consists of two parts: the proposal and the enrolment form. The faculty sponsor is responsible for preparing a detailed syllabus containing:
- A detailed description of the course with clear learning outcomes
- The amount of time devoted to each major aspect of the course
- A description of prior course work or other experience which prepares the student for the proposed activity
- The frequency and duration of meetings with the faculty sponsor
- Dates for completion of project milestones where applicable.
- The methods by which the student’s work will be evaluated must be clearly stated in the syllabus. Some appropriate forms of evaluation include a paper, a performance, and/or a presentation.
The syllabus of the independent study course should be approved by the curriculum committee prior to the course delivery.
To determine the number of credits, the guideline of a minimum of 12 hours of effort per week per course unit shall apply. A student may enroll in no more than 6 credits of independent study in a given semester. A department may limit the number of independent study credits which a student is permitted
Canadian University Dubai Students Visit Al Mesbar Studies & Research Centre Dubai
Students from the School of Communication & Media Studies at Canadian University Dubai took part in a recent visit to meet with researchers in Al Mesbar Studies Research Centre.
The visit was part of the Communication Research Methods curriculum organized by Dr Wided Dafri and facilitated by researchers from Al Mesbar for Studies & Research Centre.
Following a welcome speech by Mr. Turki Al Dakhil on behalf of the Al Mesbar Center, Mr. Omar Turabi outlined the center’s role in Arabic research since its founding in 2007 where the center publishes “The Monthly Book”; a thick volume of research in Arabic on topics of pressing concern to the region’s decision makers.
There followed a series of presentations on how to carry out research in labour markets, the impact of social media regionally and its role in reading and shaping political events as well as the relationship between the media and researchers and future forces of change in the Arab world.
Al-Mesbar Studies & Research Center delivers incisive research and analysis on political and social movements in the Arab and Muslim world. Through an extensive network spanning the Arab region, Al-Mesbar accesses niche expertise and rare source materials to keep its research & publications on the cutting edge of inquiry.
The Center was founded on the belief that political analysis alone cannot adequately explain the region’s political trends, let alone predict their future course. Only a multidisciplinary approach grounded in the region’s culture, history, symbols, and intellectual milieu can yield the insights upon which effective policies are based.
After the presentations students took part in a lively question and answer session relating to how to be researcher.
Speaking about the visit, Dr Wided said that it was arranged so that her students would learn about the importance of scientific research and encourage them to read more books and write properly for good research.
Maha A lMarri, one of the students who visited Al Mesbar Centre said the visit encouraged her to pay more attention when undertaking and writing research because reporting correctly requires better preparation.”
Maisem Abd also said “I promised myself to start reading from today, because without reading we cannot know what is happening around us; also we cannot be good students or good researchers in the future so yesterday I bought two books to read over the next few weeks”
Assistantships in Research
Assistantships in Research (ARs) are appointments provided to students who perform research in coordination with a faculty member as a part of their training. Funding is generally provided by faculty member research grants. In the Natural Sciences and Engineering divisions, most students are supported by ARs after their first year of study and during summers. It is expected that research activities performed under an AR appointment satisfy the student’s degree requirements and contribute to their dissertation research.
The tuition and stipend components of an AR are the same for students across all divisions. The stipend component of an Assistantship in Research is provided as salary. If a student has additional sources of funding from the university, the tuition and stipend amount of such funding are prorated accordingly depending on the percent of AR commitment.
Projects
Faculty members at Canadian University Dubai are engaged in a wide range of groundbreaking projects, reflecting the diverse academic expertise that exists among our research community.
With a number of long-established transnational research partnerships, we are applying our expertise in collaboration with leading academics and institutions around the world, and have attracted grants from renowned international research institutes.
From the creation and application of new technologies, to the development of new business processes and techniques, CUD faculty are working across a number of disciplines to bring forward innovations that will help to advance society, both in the UAE and globally. The impact of this research can be seen in the publications and patents that result from these projects, as well as the numerous international research awards conferred on our faculty members.
Research projects in:
- Architecture & Design
- Business Administration
- Communication & Media Studies
- Engineering, Applied Science & Technology
- Liberal Arts & Sciences
- Public Health & Health Sciences
Architecture & Design
| Name project | Lead |
| Infrared imaging for analyzing and improving energy efficiency | Dr. Hamoud Dekkiche |
| New trends in urban design | Dr. Hoshiar Nooraddin |
| Sustainable design | Luca Donner |
| Interior outdoors | Massimo Imparato |
| Design in the Arab world | Sophie Johnson |
Figure 4. Table Architecture & Design, taken from [5]
Business Administration
| Name project | Lead |
| Hyper-connected logistics | Dr. Marc Poulin |
| Emerging financial markets | Dr. Elgilani Elshareif |
Figure 5. Table Business Administration, taken from [6]
Communication & Media Studies
| Name project | Lead |
| Autonomous sensory meridian response (ASMR) | Dr. Franziska Apprich |
| Arab journalism | Dr. Mohamed Ben Moussa |
Figure 6. Table Communication & Media Studies, taken from [7]
Engineering, Applied Science & Technology
| Name project | Lead |
| Wireless communication technologies | Dr. Sherif Moussa |
| Structural health monitoring | Dr. Adel Ben Mnaouer |
| Air quality monitoring | Dr. Adel Ben Mnaouer |
| Ubiquitous mobile healthcare monitoring | Dr. Adel Ben Mnaouer |
Figure 7. Table Engineering, Applied Science & Technology, taken from [8]
Public Health & Health Sciences
| Name project | Lead |
| Cancer screening | Dr. Rami El Khatib |
Figure 8. Table Public Health & Health Sciences, taken from [9]
Liberal Arts & Sciences
| Name project | Lead |
| Educational neuroscience | Dr. Efthymios Papatzikis |
| Positive psychology | Dr. Louise Lambert |
| Quranic studies | Marwan Shaban |
Figure 9. Table Liberal Arts & Sciences, taken from [10]
Interests
Researcher at Canadian University Dubai covers a diverse range of disciplines and specialisms. Across our seven academic schools, researchers collaborate on national and international studies, speak at conferences around the world, and are frequently called upon to provide their expertise at local and regional events and in media and publications. [11]
Students can to explore opportunities for research collaborations or to obtain an expert opinion in a particular field.
| Architecture & Design | |
| Carla Arias | Biophilic design, human-nature connections, didactic school design and historic implications of sustainable design. |
| Evangelia Diagkou | Interior design and decoration. |
| Hamoud Dekkiche | Urban design, sustainability, life cycle assessment and building information modeling. |
| Hoshiar Nooraddin | Architecture, urban design, sustainability and transportation. |
| Joaquin Busch | Visualization and concept in architecture/interior design. |
| Luca Donner | Sustainability, affordability, prefab architecture and housing. |
| Mr. Massimo Imparato | Third spaces, innovation in manufacturing, and digital fabrication. |
| Serkan Gunay | Architectural preservation, geographical information systems and spatial information systems. |
| Ms. Sophie Johnson | Community architecture, public and private sector housing, tradition in residential environments. |
| Business Administration | |
| Anas Najdawi | B2B e-business integration in tourism, knowledge modeling and sharing, concept mapping for business and education, entrepreneurship and innovation. |
| Chris Enyinda | Marketing, Logistics/Operations and Supply Chain Management, Transportation Management, International Business/International Trade. |
| Farooq Haq | Tourism marketing, Islamic marketing, Halal branding and special products marketing. |
| Hanan Mustapha | Pension reforms in developed and emerging countries, the aging population, social insurance and public economics. |
| John Ireland | Consumer perceptions of Islamic marketing issues and marketing with the bottom of the pyramid. |
| Mohammed Ibrahim | International accounting, auditing judgment, performance evaluation, heuristics and professional judgment. |
| Rommel Pilapil Sergio | Emotional intelligence, cross-cultural orientation, talent management, career development, change management, and human resource effectiveness. |
| Sawsan Halbouni | Accounting in developing countries, social responsibility and environmental disclosures, and audit quality and fraud detection. |
| Susan Zeidan | Human resource management, intellectual capital, psychological contracts, employee attitudes and behaviors, and organizational downsizing. |
| Communication & Media Studies | |
| Franziska Apprich | Media, apps, music and theatre. |
| Katia Vianou | Globalisation, international communication and development, international scientific cooperation, and anthropological approaches in communication studies. |
| Mohamed Ben Moussa | Social media, media convergence and online journalism, international communication, ICT4 development, and gender and the media. |
| Mohamed Ahmed | Development and uses of converged media and digital content in higher education. |
| Wided Dafri | Arabic media, public relations, protocol and diplomacy, international relations, human rights and leadership styles . |
| Engineering, Applied Science & Technology | |
| Adel Ben Mnaouer | Wireless networking, bio-medical engineering, software engineering, and cluster/grid computing. |
| Firuz Kamalov | Operator algebras and functional analysis. |
| Ons Bouachir | Wireless networking, sensor networks, aeronautical communications, unmanned aerial vehicle (drones) communications, space communications. |
| Sherif Moussa | VLSI design, wireless communication, and computer networks. |
| Environment & Health Sciences | |
| Ahmad Okasha | Hospital journey to service line specialization. |
| Rami El Khatib | Quality of different environmental and healthcare concerns. |
| Stefane Mostefa Kabene | Leadership, management, health and healthcare systems. |
| Yassen Alfoteih | Environmental science, biology, epidemiology, microbiology and water quality. |
| Graduate Studies | |
| Elgilani Elshareif | Financial modeling, stock market volatility, government bonds and sukuk, and Islamic and conventional banking efficiency and performance. |
| Ikhlaas Gurrib | Behavioural finance, event analysis, macroeconomic analysis and financial markets. |
| Marc Poulin | Mass customization, operations management, supply chain management and operations simulation. |
| Mohammed Kabir | International development. |
| Mohammed Nurul Alam | Financing for SMEs and micro entrepreneurs by Islamic Banks. |
| Liberal Arts & Sciences | |
| Efthymios Papatzikis | Educational neuroscience, infants’ and children’s neurobehavioral development through sound and music, educational development and special needs. |
| Ho Hon Leung | Geometry, topology and functional analysis, and group theory. |
| Joanna Seraphim | Cultural preservation and transmission, Middle-Eastern studies, native studies, and women’s studies. |
| Louise Lambert | Positive psychology and culture. |
CUD Faculty Honored at Annual Research Awards
Members of faculty have been honored for their contribution to the academic community and wider society at a recent ceremony to confer the annual Canadian University Dubai (CUD) research awards.
This year’s recipients were Dr. Hamoud Dekkiche from the School of Architecture & Interior Design; Dr. Ikhlaas Gurrib from the School of Business Administration; Dr. Louise Lambert from the School of Liberal Arts & Sciences; and Dr. Adel Ben Mnaouer from the School of Engineering, Applied Science & Technology.
The award ceremony was opened by Provost, Dr. Muhammed Kabir, who spoke about the growing significance of research and the progress made by CUD towards this agenda during its first decade of operation.
The CUD research awards were established in 2013 to promote excellence in research and to reward faculty members who make an outstanding contribution in this field. The fourth edition of the annual awards recognized those faculty who demonstrated distinction in research engagement, quality and outputs during the 2015-16 academic year.
A second-time recipient of the award, Dr. Ikhlaas Gurrib has a number of international journal publications to his name and was among those selected to present at the recent CUD-hosted International Conference on Leadership, Innovation and Entrepreneurship, with his paper, ‘Cross Market Price Mechanism between the US Copper Futures Market and a newly proposed Chinese Dollar Index.’
Fellow second-time awardee, Dr. Louise Lambert, is the academic behind the Middle East’s first Journal of Positive Psychology, having launched the publication in 2015, and her research has featured in psychology and healthcare journals internationally.
Receiving a research awards for the first time, Dr. Hamoud Dekkiche was recognized for his work on sustainable design, including his studies relating to green buildings, recently presented at the International Conference on Sustainable Design, Engineering and Construction held at Arizona State University, and published in the Procedia Engineering Journal.
With a portfolio that includes three Qatar National Research Fund projects worth US$ 3 million, Dr. Adel Ben Mnaouer was also recognized at this year’s awards for his pioneering work in sensor technology. His recent work has involved the creation of a prototype device to enable high-efficiency air quality monitoring to help promote a cleaner environment.
The awards were presented by University President and Vice Chancellor, Pr. Karim Chelli, who paid tribute to the endeavors and achievements of each of the recipients.
CUD Celebrates Teaching and Research Excellence
Members of faculty from CUD have been recognized for their outstanding contribution to teaching and research with awards at the University’s recent graduation ceremony.
Members of faculty from Canadian University Dubai (CUD) have been recognized for their outstanding contribution to teaching and research with awards at the University’s recent graduation ceremony.
The annual CUD Teaching Excellence Awards celebrate members of faculty who have demonstrated innovative and inspiring teaching across the institution’s diverse academic programs. The Research Excellence Awards, meanwhile, recognize professors who demonstrate distinction in research engagement, quality and outputs.
This year’s recipients were:
Research Awards
- Dr. Chris Enyinda
- Dr. Mohamed Ben Moussa
- Dr. Sherif Moussa
Teaching Awards
- Dr. Mohammed Al Akhras – School of Engineering, Applied Science and Technology
- Mr. Ryan Sisson – School of Environment and Health Sciences
- Mrs. Rama Makad – School of Communication and Media Studies
- Dr. Maha Al Bustani – School of Architecture and Interior Design
- Ms. Suhair Hamouri – School of Business Administration
- Dr. Haniyeh Yousofpour – School of Graduate Studies
- Dr. Rawa Nahas – General Education
The Awards were presented at the University’s fifth graduation ceremony, which recently took place in front of a full-house at Sheikh Rashid Hall, Dubai World Trade Centre.
Assistantships in Research
Assistantships in Research (ARs) are appointments provided to students who perform research in coordination with a faculty member as a part of their training. Funding is generally provided by faculty member research grants. In the Natural Sciences and Engineering divisions, most students are supported by ARs after their first year of study and during summers. It is expected that research activities performed under an AR appointment satisfy the student’s degree requirements and contribute to their dissertation research.
The tuition and stipend components of an AR are the same for students across all divisions. The stipend component of an Assistantship in Research is provided as salary. If a student has additional sources of funding from the university, the tuition and stipend amounts of such funding are prorated accordingly depending on the percent of AR commitment.
CUD professor flips research approach for more practical, relevant, engaging, and effective teaching and learning using a framework that echoes the North American Universal for Design for Learning (UDL) principles.
Dr Naveed Yasin, CUD’s Associate Professor, Faculty of Management, applies ‘teaching-informed research,’ a flipped approach to research that results in research being informed by pedagogy rather than pedagogy being informed by research. Within the field of enterprise and entrepreneurship/business management education, the purpose is to achieve more practical and relevant teaching and learning.
Dr Naveed says, “in the field of enterprise and entrepreneurship/business management, educators often teach the core subjects and then publish research outputs in an unrelated or only partially related area. For example, a professor might be teaching Business Start-up, but her/his research interest is gender and entrepreneurship. This topic, unrelated to the coursework, may never make it to the classroom. Therefore, while the research makes a great academic contribution to the field, it does not necessarily inform the practice of teaching.”
To achieve a ‘teaching-informed research’ model, Dr Naveed employs eight key methods. A summarization of these methods can be described as: technology-based simulation, original and real life case studies, game-based student response systems, pre and post course measurements of learning effectiveness, reflective portfolio development, project-based assessments, interdisciplinary approaches to team based entrepreneurship projects, real-world projects, and co-authorship with students for knowledge co-creation.
Details of these eight methods can be found in Dr Naveed’s article on this topic titled, ‘Not only research-informed teaching but teaching informed research in enterprise education” published in the Higher Education Digest – Middle East Special Issue.
Of note, the eight methods echo the North American invented Universal Design for Learning (UDL) framework. Developed out of Harvard University, UDL has gained wide-spread acclaim as a breakthrough in liberated and modern pedagogy.
It is this kind of forward-thinking that makes Canadian University Dubai an institution known for academic excellence in Dubai. Dr Naveed said, “This endeavour is aligned and contributes to CUD’s vision for creating an institutional reputation for entrepreneurship and innovation as a signature for CUD.”
Dr. Naveed Yasin is a senior academic in Entrepreneurship with over 10 years of experience of delivering excellence (UK, Oman, and now the UAE). The 2015 prestigious Award winner for the ‘Outstanding All Round Academic Award’ from the Teaching & Learning Institute, UK. Senior Fellow of the Higher Education Academy (SFHEA), International Keynote speaker, holder of Chartered Manager and Fellow status from the Chartered Management Institute (UK), Fellow of the National Council of Entrepreneurship in Education (NCEE), Certified CMBE accreditation from the Chartered Association of Business Schools, and CIM Chartered Manager’s Canada (C.MGR.). Dr. Yasin has published extensively in internationally renowned ABS and Scopus indexed journals and authored several books in the field of enterprise education, education management, and cross-border migrant entrepreneurship.