SPEA partners with United Arab Emirates university

Mid-career professionals from the United Arab Emirates and surrounding countries can also benefit from an IU education.\nThe School of Public and Environmental Affairs helped to develop the Executive Masters in Public Administration, offered through Zayed University in Abu Dhabi and Dubai.\n"The first of its kind" in the United Arab Emirates, according to SPEA. The program had about 24 government administrators present at its first class, which took place Jan. 27. The joint program has been a yearlong process.\nZayed University approached SPEA in September 2005 asking for help in developing and teaching the Executive Masters in Public Administration, said Craig Hartzer, clinical professor and director of the Executive Education Program for SPEA at IU-Purdue University Indianapolis. \n"They approached SPEA because of its reputation and national ranking as one of the best schools in the nation," Hartzer said.\nHe also said that the memorandum of understanding between the universities was signed in October 2006.\nHartzer said SPEA has existing relationships with universities around the world. He highlighted reasons why IU established the latest program with Zayed.\n"IU agreed to work with Zayed to help modernize public administration around the world in the Gulf region. This helps IU-SPEA to continue its mission," Hartzer said. \nThe purpose of the course is for "existing public officials in the area to get a graduate degree to prepare them to reach their goals," IU Media Relations spokeswoman Elisabeth Andrews said. "There is a new style of government emerging, and this gives them more options." \nSPEA professors will travel to Abu Dhabi to teach weeklong seminars, which will provide professional training.\nSPEA professor Matt Auer will be heading there this spring, according to an IU news release.\n"The course compares how public administration works there versus here and other countries," Auer said. "There are not very many countries with professional degree programs."\nSome of the government systems that will be studied include health care, waste management and governmental affairs, Auer said.\n"At the end of the day, students can take away what they want from the program," Auer said. "This is not a formula to impose the Western style, but to demonstrate how public administration works."\nAuer said that training government officials from the bottom up can make all the difference in the world.\n"The United Arab Emirates is changing very fast," he said. "This is a constructive way to promote knowledge, friendship and state-of-the-art training for the future"