EMPOWERING UNIVERSITY STUDENTS THROUGH RESEARCH BASED METHODOLOGY IN THE UNITED ARAB EMIRATES: A CASE STUDY AT ZAYED UNIVERSITY

Day by day, the focus on research is increasing in the United Arab Emirates (UAE). Research is considered one of the main pillars in the UAE 2021 Vision to unify and consolidate knowledge [5]. Additionally, the Ministry of Education in the UAE recently mandated the creation of an undergraduate research course at all government-funded universities in the country. The purpose of the course is to provide an introduction to research methods commonly used in Sciences and Humanities (social, physical and health sciences). High achievement in this course encourages students to be more involved in scholarly research, international conferences, and graduate studies. Historically, Zayed University has taken the lead in promoting a research culture among its students. Zayed University's Undergraduate Research Scholars Program (URSP) successfully established a formal framework to build student research capacity and promote a research ethos among ZU students. However, there were some challenges associated with the program, including the fact that it was non-credit bearing. These obstacles were revealed by interviewing 54 of the past URSP participants about the successes and challenges of their learning experience in the five semester-long URSP modules. In an attempt to give more visibility and credibility to the URSP program, we have incorporated the program into Credly's electronic badge system being rolled out at ZU [3]. The Research Star Scholar Badge is to provide students an opportunity to align their learning experience with best practices and develop well-articulated artifacts that can be used for job applications, continuing research, resumes and eportfolios. The badge is attainable in three phases (Bronze, Silver and Gold), each of which challenges students to think critically about how their research-based learning experience is connected to their course of study. We are confident this forum session will provide an opportunity to exchange innovative ideas to enhance the research ethos within the UAE.