ProQuest and leading Middle East academic institutions meet to collaborate and share best practice
In partnership with American University of Sharjah (AUS), ProQuest are holding the Middle East Academic Libraries Symposium. Over the next two days they will be bringing together senior leaders from the academic library market with key representatives from leading Middle East Universities to discuss knowledge and information strategies and resources for academics and also their institutions.
Speakers from around the world will discuss a variety of key topics linked to emerging research trends and library management. Opening the conference will be Robin Bew, Managing Director of the Economist Intelligence Unit. Bew will discuss with delegates what role education and research plays in the economic development process within these countries and what opportunities the knowledge and digital economy provides.
Michael Gersch, Senior Vice President, Global Sales, Marketing and Customer Experience at ProQuest said that "As a proud partner to academic libraries across the Middle East, ProQuest is delighted to be co-hosting with the American University of Sharjah the 'Middle East Academic Libraries Symposium'. This event has been created to bring together key inspirational speakers from across the globe to discuss with delegates from the Middle East trends and topics which will lead to the exploration of options to assist in building robust strategies for their institutions".
Acting Chancellor of AUS, Dr. Thomas Hochstettler said on holding the symposium, "It gives us great pleasure to co-host the Middle East Academic Libraries Symposium. As an institution of higher education, research is at the top of our list of priorities. We are very proud that our state-of-the-art library is among the finest in the region and reflects our commitment to quality research and development."
Other key topics for the event will cover ‘Issues and Challenges Surrounding Library Management’ delivered by John McDonald from Claremont University Consortia and Jane Burke from ProQuest, 'ebook strategy for building collections and framework models' by Lorraine Estelle, JISC and Kari Paulson, ProQuest and finally 'Digital Collection Management and Digital Preservation' by Jeff Garrett, Northwestern University and Stephen Brooks from ProQuest.
Delegates are attending the symposium from across the Middle East including Egypt, Lebanon, Saudi Arabia, Jordan, Qatar, Algeria and Kuwait with numerous attendees also from within the United Arab Emirates.
About AUS
American University of Sharjah (AUS) was founded in 1997 by His Highness Sheikh Dr. Sultan Bin Mohammed Al Qassimi, Supreme Council Member and Ruler of Sharjah. The university was envisaged by His Highness as a leading educational institution in the Gulf region. Located in University City, Sharjah, AUS is a not-for-profit, independent, institution of higher education formed on the American model.
It offers 26 majors and 53 minors at the undergraduate level, and 14 master’s degrees through the College of Architecture, Art and Design; the College of Arts and Sciences; the College of Engineering; and the School of Business and Management. These programs are designed to meet the challenges of a competitive and dynamic business and industrial environment.
As a provider of quality higher education in the Gulf, AUS is licensed and its programs are accredited by the Commission for Academic Accreditation of the Ministry of Higher Education and Scientific Research in the United Arab Emirates. AUS is accredited in the United States of America by the Commission on Higher Education of the Middle States Association of Colleges and Schools, and by the Department of Education of the State of Delaware.
The Bachelor of Science degree programs in chemical engineering, civil engineering, computer engineering, electrical engineering and mechanical engineering offered by the College of Engineering are accredited by the Engineering Accreditation Commission of ABET (www.abet.org). The Bachelor of Science degree program in computer science offered by the College of Engineering is accredited by the Computing Accreditation Commission of ABET (www.abet.org). The Bachelor of Architecture program of the College of Architecture, Art and Design is accredited by the National Architectural Accrediting Board (NAAB) of the United States. The Bachelor of Science in Business Administration (BSBA) as well as the Master of Business Administration (MBA) and Executive Master of Business Administration (EMBA) degrees offered by the School of Business and Management are accredited by the Association to Advance Collegiate Schools of Business (AACSB).
About ProQuest (www.proquest.com)
ProQuest connects people with vetted, reliable information. Key to serious research, the company has forged a 70-year reputation as a gateway to the world's knowledge — from dissertations to governmental and cultural archives to news, in all its forms. Its role is essential to libraries and other organizations whose missions depend on the delivery of complete, trustworthy information.
ProQuest's massive information pool is made accessible in research environments that accelerate productivity, empowering users to discover, create, and share knowledge.
An energetic, fast-growing organization, ProQuest includes the ProQuest®, Bowker®, Dialog®, ebrary®, and Serials Solutions® businesses and notable research tools such as the RefWorks®, and Pivot™ services, as well as its' Summon® web-scale discovery service. The company is headquartered in Ann Arbor, Michigan, with offices around the world.