ASU students to give ‘new face’ for economy

Manama : Soon the government projects and the nagging issues will get ‘youthful’ solutions. In a bid to integrate youths in the growth story of the Kingdom, students of Applied Science University (ASU) will be involved in conducting research to aid the government in dealing with certain issues from next month. 

The possibility for Bahraini investors to set up Islamic finance in Russia, studying sustainable development and finding solution for traffic issues in Bahrain are some of the projects that the students would undertake. 

The initiative, which comes into fruition following an agreement between the ASU and the Capital Governorate, is designed to empower students to have a greater impact on Bahrain’s economy. The governorate will facilitate the programmes by accepting the ASU students as interns to work on the projects.

“The reports by the students will help the government to get a ‘youth perspective’,” commented Capital Governorate Head of Strategic Planning and Projects Yusuf Lori yesterday. 

According to him, it will benefit the students as well as the government. 

“We will accept internships from the ASU and it will be project-based. We will find some cases for them to work on. It could be an issue they need to find solutions for or conduct studies. We will give them the statistics and the students will work on research projects that the government can use,” he explained. 

“By this way we will save the money that we might spend for hiring foreign consultation. We also give the students an opportunity to work in the field and understand what Bahrain really needs. The project will also be in line with the academic system of the university,” Lori informed.

Citing an example, he remarked: “One of the projects is called the Sustainable Development project. As part of this, students will be taken on a study trip to the UAE. We will compare what we have in Bahrain and what the UAE has implemented.” 

“Another project that we have is about studying the possibility of implementing Islamic finance in Russia. The students will do the research, which we can present to Bahraini investors. The students will also work on other projects relating to solving traffic issues in Bahrain,” he elaborated.

ASU Head of Marketing and Student Recruitment Office Edyta Przybyla said, “The main goal is to upgrade the educational sector and influence students by engaging them in finding solutions to specific problems instead of adopting the traditional broadcasting-type model of education. It is part of positioning the university through strategic partnerships with the government and the private sector organisations.” 

She said the initiatives are inline with Bahrain’s Vision 2030. “We are always eager to support the Vision 2030 of HM the King, HRH the Prime Minister and HRH the Crown Prince. We want to help Bahraini youth make a powerful impact on the economy, work towards unemployment solutions, help creating an educational hub and sustainable government projects,” Edyta added.

Commenting that this method is the most effective, President of the ASU Prof. Ghassan Aouad said: “If you ask students to solve a mathematical problem, they may not be so excited. But if you ask them to go outside and design a stage for an event, they will approach it in a totally different way. They will do all sorts of calculations. They will be enthusiastic and will learn more. This is the idea behind what we are doing.” 

He said the ASU will continue expanding its international partnerships. The ASU is in discussions with universities in Poland, Azerbaijan, Italy and Russia to set up joint programmes. It has already agreed to partner with London South Bank University and Cardiff Metropolitan University, UK.