JEDDAH, 20 March — A new private college for women will start its academic session at its location in Sharafiyah district from September, offering four-year degree courses in nutrition, modern European languages, child psychology, psychology and youth counseling and computer science, aside from a two-year diploma course in cosmetology.
“The program in cosmetology covers aesthetics and beauty therapy, which is based on the art of enhancing the face and body both physically and psychologically,” Debbie Fellows of the new Hijaz National College said yesterday.
The college is among several higher education institutions from the Kingdom and other Middle East countries participating in a five-day educational vocational training expo, which is being held at the Alhamra Commercial Center.
“The college is focusing on its courses on helping to provide better career opportunities,” Fellows told Arab News.
The expo, which ends on Wednesday, brings together universities and colleges from all over the Middle East, including Jordan and Egypt, as well as Malaysia. There are also representations from the Embassy of Canada and the consulates of the United States, New Zealand and South Africa, which are highlighting undergraduate, postgraduate, and PhD studies in their countries.
The Egyptian participant is the Arab Academy for Science and Technology and Maritime Transport, based in Alexandria, and from Jordan the ABN Al-Haython Hospital and Applied Science University is promoting its courses.
Malaysia has the biggest presence at the show, with its 13 universities and colleges. One of them is the International Islamic University of Malaysia (IIUM), whose teaching philosophy is based on the Qur’an.
“We have four visions for the quality of our education: integration, Islamization, internationalization and comprehensive excellence,” an IIUM representative said. Its academic program covers economics and management, law, Islamic revealed knowledge and human sciences, as well as engineering, medicine, medical sciences, architecture and environmental design, information and communication technology.
Malaysia has 17 universities, four of which were recently established, and 360 private colleges, Dr. Norbik Bashah Idris, professor and director at the Center for Advanced Software Engineering, Universiti Teknology Malaysia, said.
