The Role of American Universities in the Post-Arab Spring World

The gap between the demand of the labor market and the graduates of the current education systems in the Arab world bring into focus the issue of the quality of higher education programs in the region as well as the sustainability of the partnerships between American universities and their host countries. There are many questions surrounding these programs¬— whether or not host countries are creating enough incentives and job opportunities for students to study and remain in country post-graduation, and whether or not the social and legal codes of the host countries are impeding on academic freedom and institutional quality. A deeper assessment of the experiences and issues facing American university ventures in the Arab world and the results of the different models of partnership is necessary for training new citizens in the post-Arab Awakening era.

On January 28, the Project on U.S. Relations with the Islamic World at the Brookings Institution organized a conversation with Brookings Non-Resident Senior Fellow Alisa Rubin, with welcoming remarks by Saban Center Director and Senior Fellow Tamara Cofman Wittes, on the current higher education programs in the Arab world undertaken by American universities, with a specific focus on the Qatar and the U.A.E.