4 years ago
Gulf Insider talks to Dr. Susan E. Saxton, Founding President of the American University of Bahrain. How is your organization contributing to the development of the Kingdom of Bahrain? In general, the AUBH quality of American-style education mirrors that of the best universities in the United States, and we are the first of our kind in the Kingdom. Through our unique academic philosophy, students will be equipped to identify their interests and passion and focus their attention on following the path they find personally suitable. This approach runs through everything we do, and so creates a unique caliber of graduate which AUBH will become synonymous with in Bahrain. What makes your University special? Many things! True to our Americanstyle curriculum, with AUBH, students can change their mind with regards to their major. They have two years of general education courses common across all colleges, giving them the skills to be productive, to find their own resources, to self-assess. We discovered that this way we can enable students to find their real passions rather than being forced to choose a path too early – they ‘learn to learn.’ We envision a new league of graduates, empowered with the ability to think […]
4 years ago
Gulf Insider interviews Dr. Susan E. Saxton, Founding President of the American University of Bahrain. When did you realize the pandemic was about to impact your day-to-day life and work? What immediate actions did you take and how ready was AUBH to adopt these actions? COVID-19 has changed the way that institutions globally deliver education,and the way that students approach their futures. As soon as we saw the pandemic take hold in Europe, we pro-actively mobilized our technological tools to be ready to move to an online modality. AUBH, as an institution, is in a fortunate position due to the structure of our business as a start-up, which means that we are naturally able to adapt and change very quickly. We moved to distance learning seamlessly, without missing any class time. I’m pleased that all of us, including staff, students, and support teams, have demonstrated the ability and desire to adapt and try new teaching and learning methodologies. We added measures to assist students who have had to return from studying abroad, who may not have access to all the necessary documents due to exam disruption. Being a recognized Cambridge English testing center, we were also able to offer applicants […]