A major plan has been drawn up to reshape the curriculum at Bahrain University to help graduates make it in the workplace.

The proposal, which has been two years in the making, includes creating international centres of excellence with established universities worldwide and introducing new academic projects.

University president Dr Ibrahim Janahi gave an outline of the plan during a meeting with faculty members at the Sakhir campus.

'The current plan is different from the previous ones in terms of performance and supervision as it is supervised by external bodies, followed up by the Economic Development Board (EDB) and most important of all, it is supported by the Bahraini political leadership,' he said.

'An operational plan has been drawn up for the strategic plan and the university has received two positive reports from the EDB that prove the university's commitment to the implementation of its mission within the given time.'

Project director-general Dr Khalid Al Ruwaihi also presented the mechanisms of managing the project, at the event.

'The aim of the plan is to prepare graduates to suit the future market, through knowledge, teamwork and communication,' he said.

'We plan to set up international centres of excellence in conjunction with well-known universities in Europe and North America.

'Twenty-four academic projects will be offered with these universities to be in line with the EDB's (Economic) Vision 2030.'

Dr Janahi said the university planned to have 70 per cent of its Bachelor programmes internationally accredited by the end of the year.

He also set out a plan to produce an academic directory containing details of the university's academics and fields of specialisation.

'The university is now preparing a directory containing the university's academics with their fields of specialisation in order for decision-makers in both public and private sectors to be in contact when needed for consultations, and conducting studies and projects,' he said.

It was also announced a workshop for academics will be held at the start of the next term with Riyadh-based King Saud University president Abdullah Al Othman to showcase Bahrain University's progress in the region.-TradeArabia News Service