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Thousands of high school and university students as well as job seekers flooded the Abu Dhabi National Exhibition Centre on Tuesday morning, when the three-day annual university and employment fair, Najah, opened its doors.
This year, Najah attracted mostly university representatives, largely from the UAE. However, several companies and organisations like Etihad Airways, Abu Dhabi National Oil Company and the Abu Dhabi Farmers Services Centre (ADFSC) joined the fair offering employment opportunities.
"We are seeking the best and brightest Emirati graduates to become essential members ADFSC's development as we grow into an efficient, skilled and results orientated organisation," said Rashed Abdulla Al Qubaisi, human recourses and administration director at ADFSC.
The centre is looking to employ at least 15 fresh graduates before the end of the year, in both technical and commercial positions.
Al major universities in the UAE are taking part in Najah, from the popular Masdar Institute to the new Al Falah University.
Getting into Masdar Institute is not easy, particularly since students here are considered scientific researchers.
"We have about 2,200 applications every year, but we can only take about 100," said Dr Lamya Fawwaz, vice-president, institutional advancement and public affaires, and Professor of Practice at Masdar Institute.
Currently, Masdar Institute has 446 students from 65 countries, 193 of them Emirati, and 200 are female students. "We also have 97 faculty, meaning one faculty per five students, all professors from some of the world's most prestigious universities such as Stanford, Harvard, Michigan, Oxford or Cambridge," added Dr. Fawwaz.
The Al Ain University of Science and Technology (AAU) had quite a busy first day at Najah.
"I see the exhibition as improving the environment for finding jobs for our students, especially since there are companies here looking to employ, and we do look at having a connection with such companies offering jobs," pointed out Prof. Abdelhafid Belarbi, vice-president of AAU.
According to him, most students interested in AAU were asking about an engineering programme.
"We don't have one yet, but we will offer an engineering programme from the next semester, when we will open our new campus in Mohammed bin Zayed City," he also told Khaleej Times.
With so many choices from so many universities, Prof. Belarbi believes that AAU is a top contender not only for its academic offerings, but the special relationship between faculty and students.
"I would say the uniqueness of AAU resides in the proper choice of particular programmes, like the Applied Sociology or Applied Psychology, along two strong MBA in law and finance," he mentioned.
"We also have a close, one to one, parental if I may say so, relationship with our students, helping and advising them in different areas, including job seeking," added Prof. Belarbi.
From 10 years old AAU to one month old Al Falah University, there was plenty of choice for visiting students, looking to make their first career choice in choosing their higher education programme.
"We were established in September 2015 and we started this academic year with 500 students," said Dr Sameer Al Barghouthi, vice-president for academic affaires at Al Falah University.
To start with, the new university is offering three colleges in law, mass communication and business administration.
"We are located in Garhoud, in the heart of Dubai, so the location is ideal for Dubai, Sharjah, even Ajman students, and we also have students from Fujairah and Abu Dhabi," said Dr. Barghouthi.
"So far, the Najah exhibition went very well for us. We had over 100 students before lunch time on the first day, mostly inquiring about our fess or whether we are considering a bus transportation between our Dubai campus and Abu Dhabi, which is in our future plans for all emirates," he added.
Najah will continue until October 29.
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