Does your university as a body provide a neutral platform and ‘safe’ space for different political stakeholders to come together to frankly discuss challenges?
Neuroscience Professor’s Pioneering Research Attracts Global Recognition
Media channels in the UK and Australia are the latest to focus the spotlight upon the ground-breaking research of Dr. Efthymios Papatzikis, Assistant Professor of Educational Neuroscience at Canadian University Dubai (CUD).
An expert on the role of music and sound in infants’ learning and brain development, Dr. Papatzikis has been invited to act as a consultant to the UK’s national broadcasting organization, the BBC. The collaboration with the BBC’s pre-school channel, Cbeebies, focusses on fostering activities that can support early years education.
Dr. Papatzikis explained, “Cbeebies aims to boost and enrich toddlers’ exposure and understanding of music and sound from an early stage in life, which requires a valid and verified approach based on music and brain research. This is where I come in, helping them to connect theory to practice in a dynamic yet pedagogical way, always keeping in mind the specific audience’s age range, limitations, and developmental needs.”
He continued, “For example, it is one thing to say that music and sound activates the brain holistically, hence promoting brain development, but another thing to present pictures and specific sounds through a game-based approach that implicitly connects between brain development, music and sound. All this needs academic specialization to organize and implement effectively.”
Meanwhile, in Australia, Dr. Papatzikis’ research has been cited in a journal article about the benefits of music education on children. Published by Music Australia, the organization that represents all aspects of the country’s music industry, the article quotes Dr. Papatzikis’ findings, which show how music interaction in the early years of life can help in a child’s intellectual and emotional development.
Locally in the UAE, students from Dubai English Speaking College and the American School of Dubai have been learning about Dr. Papatzikis’ unique area of research through a week-long program of seminars on brain activity in relation to education, music and sound.
Throughout the seminar week, participating high school students heard from Dr. Papatzikis about brain function and structure, and the research surrounding brain and music interfaces. The unique academic activity week covered a variety of subjects ranging from basic neuroscience topics to specific research areas such as Multiple Sclerosis and music.
The educational exercise also took in a visit to the University of Sharjah Hospital, where Head of Medical Diagnostic Imaging and Associate Professor of Radiology, Dr. Abdulmunhem Obaideen, led a tour of the hospital’s Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) and Electroencephalography (EEG) facilities.
Moving forward with his pioneering research agenda, Dr. Papatzikis’ latest paper, ‘Discussing Musical Creativity in Learning: Psychological Perceptions and Brain Research’ was published in the June 2016 edition of the International Educational Scientific Research Journal. Building upon this, Dr. Papatzikis is now working on a new project in collaboration with Neuroscience student, Dania Chatila, of McGill University, Canada, to explore emotional stimuli in music.
UOIT Professor Reveals Challenges and Rewards of Field Research in the Arab World
April 3rd, 2016: Dr. Aziz Douai, Associate Professor of Communication & Digital Media at the University of Ontario Institute of Technology (UOIT), has delivered a guest lecture on the challenges, pitfalls and rewards that audience researchers face when carrying out fieldwork studies in the Arab world.
Introduced by Dr. Mohamed Ben Moussa, Acting Dean of the School of Communication and Media Studies at Canadian University Dubai, Dr. Douai revealed to faculty and students how recruitment strategies, timing, group dynamics, gender and cultural issues are all important considerations for researchers looking to engage the public in their data collection.
Audience recruitment is the first major challenge in the region, said Dr. Douai, due in part to the prevailing political dynamics that might raise concerns among participants about speaking freely. Being mindful of political and social situations and working to build trust is important in counteracting this obstacle he said.
Culture and related gender sensitivities could also present challenges to conducting research effectively and equitably, Dr. Douai said. In this context, he advised to carefully consider the approaches taken towards interviewing different groups, as well as the timing, location and the aptitude of the interviewees.
Dr. Douai, who, alongside his role at UOIT, is also the Founding Director of the Journalism, Media, and Cultural Studies Program at the Doha Institute for Graduate Studies, Qatar, concluded by discussing the importance of treating research as a conversation and empowering respondents in the process.
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Political Science Class Visits FNC
Students from the Introduction to Political Sciences Class with Dr. Wided Dafri visited the FNC on giving students the opportunity to see how the legislative authority in UAE is administered.
The visit was divided into three stages; firstly, to attend parliamentary sessions and see how deputies discussed the rules and voting process. During the second stage the students met with HE deputy Mrs. Naima Al-Sharhan (a member of the Education Committee in Parliament), who provided an overview of the Council and the role of the Deputies
Thanking the students for visiting she encouraged local students to be potential deputies in the future.
The final stage of the visit stage involved visiting the FNC Museum where the students were briefed on the history of FNC and were shown details of previous Presidents of the Council.
During the visit, the students saw the different gifts received from different parliaments in the Arab or non-Arab countries. Students were also shown examples of gifts that the FNC offers to others Councils.
Speaking about the visit Dr. Wided said that it was fruitful and helped students widen their knowledge and aspirations.
CUD Expert Contributes to Sustainable Campuses Debate
Canadian University Dubai (CUD) lecturer, Mr. Ryan Sisson, joined a panel of leading local and international experts to discuss sustainable development in higher education at the UAE’s first Sustainable Campus Initiative conference, hosted by the Environment Agency of Abu Dhabi (EAD).
The inaugural conference set out to establish a platform for debate, exchange of ideas, and transfer of international best practices on sustainable development measures in the higher education sector. It heard from international experts from Europe, Africa, Asia and North America, who shared their experiences of sustainable campus principles from across the globe.
With his experience of sustainable campus initiatives in Canadian higher education, and his campaign efforts on campus at CUD, Mr. Sisson was invited to join a panel of higher education practitioners to discuss the need for mainstreaming sustainability across universities and colleges in the UAE.