Manama: The Higher Education Council, under the leadership of Dr. Mohammed bin Mubarak Juma, Minister of Education and Chairman of the Higher Education Council, convened its regular meeting with both members and invited attendees. The council focused on reviewing the execution of previous resolutions, evaluating requests from various higher education institutions, and finalizing several organizational decisions.
According to Bahrain News Agency, the council approved a range of academic program requests. These included the Royal University for Women's initiative to launch a Bachelor's in Business Administration with Accounting, Gulf University's proposal to introduce a Bachelor's in Business Intelligence and Analytics along with a Master's in Law, and Bahrain Polytechnic's plan for a Master of Science in Information Technology specializing in Cybersecurity. Additionally, British University received approval to host the International Foundation Year program as a replacement for its current preparatory certificate.
The council also sanctioned multiple cooperation agreements. These included Applied Science University's memorandum of understanding (MoU) with ISC Institut Superieur de Commerce in France and an agreement with ETS exams. Gulf University secured MoUs with several international institutions, including Westcliff University in the USA, the Islamic University of Al Madinah in the UAE, University of Campania Luigi Vanvitelli in Italy, Canadian International College in Egypt, Jakarta Global University in Indonesia, and MGIMO University in Russia. The Royal University for Women was approved for an MoU with the University of Liverpool in the UK for a Master's in International Business Law. Furthermore, Vatel Bahrain's MoU with the Nepal Academy of Tourism and Hotel Management was endorsed, as well as the Royal College of Surgeons in Ireland's (RCSI Medical University of Bahrain) agreements with Ankara University in Turkey, AMBOSS in Germany, Iowa State University in the USA, and the College of Physicians and Surgeons Pakistan.
In terms of governance, the council approved changes to the Board of Trustees. This included the reformation of the University of Strathclyde, Bahrain Board, now chaired by Khalid Mohammed Jasim Al Hammadi, the removal of Mohammed Ali Abdullah Ghuloom from the Applied Science University Board, and the appointments of Scott John Macgregor as the President and Ibrahim Alkhadra as Vice-President of Strathclyde University.
The council emphasized that private higher education institutions hosting programs must adhere to the curricula of the main universities, including mandatory field training courses. Additionally, progress was noted on the development of the Council's website and the "Study in Bahrain" platform.