‘It Was a Great Chance to Explore the Emirates’
Robert Bösch, a student of the Master’s programme ‘International Business’, had a chance to participate in the Winter School at Ajman University, UAE. In his interview, he shares his impressions of the exciting trip to the UAE and the Winter School programme.
— Why did you decide to take part in the Winter School?
— The United Arab Emirates is a very special country that is developing fast. I have been interested in this country for many years, so when I saw the information about the Winter School, I knew I had to take the opportunity. It was a great chance to explore the Emirates, especially Ajman and Dubai. I also wanted to experience Arab culture and gain more insight into how studies and business develop, and that is exactly what I got.
— How was your study experience at Ajman University?
— On almost each of the seven days I spent there, we were at Ajman University at 09:30 am. We had lectures and project activities for about 2–3 hours per day. The lectures were on different subjects (architecture, business and economics, AI and technology), and we had tours around the campus and different departments. Almost all of the seminars were interesting to me, but the ones on business and economics were my favourite, since I study International Business.
— What were the group and the tour guides at Ajman University like?
— In total, there were 28 people. A girl from Cyprus, 26 people from India, and me. So it was quite an unusual group, but very interesting, especially for me. We had four tour guides from Ajman University who were 19–26 years old. They were all Arab people, so I spent the whole week gaining a lot of interesting insights into Indian and Arab culture. I made some new friends from India. Our tour guides treated us so well; they were like friends. I really appreciated this great treatment!
— Where did you stay?
— The majority of the group stayed in the student dorms, but I and ten other people stayed at Bahi Ajman Palace Hotel, a very nice 5-star hotel located directly at the beach. That was also amazing! Great rooms, good food. We shared the rooms with another person (two people per room).
— What activities did you do during the week?
— We did so many activities during the week that it felt like I was there for three or more weeks. Describing them all would take too long. But we visited the Huawei Innovation Centre in Dubai, Dubai Mall, the Burj Khalifa (to the top), Sharjah Innovation Park, the Sheikh Zayed Mosque, JBR, and had a city walk around New Dubai. We did all of that in the first three days. On the fourth day, we went to Gulf Craft, a manufacturer of luxury yachts, and saw how they produced yachts and even visited one (but no sailing, just in the port). After that, we visited the Museum of the Future and Global Village, where you should definitely try the Indian food!
On the sixth day, we went to the Dubai Police Innovation Centre, where they showed us innovations like in-development cars, drones and self-driving vehicles. After that, we went to the Desert Safari. We drove in SUV’s through the desert, had dinner and watched a show in a desert camp. It was really fantastic to sit in a desert at night and enjoy a very tasty Arab dinner.
Text prepared by the Study Abroad Opportunities team.