Introduction

During the summer after my graduation as part of the inaugural class, I was asked to write a piece on some of the challenging (and interesting) aspects during our development as NYU Abu Dhabi by On Century Avenue. Indeed, signing up to be a student of a start-up university is quite an experience and from talking to many NYU Shanghai students, I find that we have much in common. Although this piece may be quite lengthy, it by no means captures the depth and assortment of hurdles we overcame (or didn’t) in their entirety, but they are important. To avoid generic discussion, I have tried wherever I can, to include personal examples and experiences. I am sure you will find, from experience and reading that indeed, building a university is a continuing process; one that may never end.

Diversity, Culture and Debate

What is unique about our campuses (often stressed to such a great deal it is almost cliché) are our diverse student bodies. Many of us come from international high schools where the statistics for the number of student nationalities and the languages spoken are comparable; but I have come to realise from my experience at NYUAD, there are distinct differences in the challenges created at the tertiary level of education (especially when most of us live together). I can think of countless instances where fierce debate took place in the cafeteria, in the classroom and in our dorms. At the very beginning, the most sensitive issues were brought up in discussion that was unfacilitated and unstructured. Indeed, most of us were inexperienced in voicing our opinions in a manner that was respectful yet challenging. Over the years and with the help of our administration and faculty, we began to learn and experience respectful debate and understand perhaps one of the most overused phrases in our communities: “leaving our comfort zones”. What is fascinating however, is the increasing use of social media to express our opinions about sensitive topics. For those of us who feel more comfortable sitting behind our computer screens, social media is perfect for engaging in discussion and expressing opinions in a manner that is more anonymous. At NYUAD, we have seen an increasing trend towards fierce online debate amongst our students, and we are still wondering how to facilitate these discussions in-person or whether we should at all. Several instances have occurred where elements of sarcasm and satire caused offence to those in our community. After attending a Student Government Summit in Shanghai earlier this year, I realised how similar this issue is between our campuses. Our collaboration in “solving” (or to refrain from framing it negatively, I should say “understanding”) the use of social media in sensitive discussions and expressing opinions is essential for the future. I believe that projects like the Breaking Barriers Initiative are exemplary in online communication, and hope to see more in the coming years.

Continuous Feedback Loops/Working with faculty and administration

Within our diverse communities with their rich debate and discussion, we have all heard constantly that the decision we’ve taken to attend NYUAD or NYUSH renders us the pioneers of global education; we are to leave a legacy in undergraduate education. It does sound rather appealing, especially since we’re living in a world where emphasis is laid more and more on youthful action. It often takes a while however, to understand the gravity of that statement and its implications in our everyday lives. Believe it or not, “leaving a legacy” is no easy task. It means you, the students alongside faculty and administration are walking hand in hand down an unknown path. Faculty and administration may seem to have more experience, but the responsibility of student feedback to the program is essential not only to the growth of the institute but to the very success of your education. Make no mistake, in a start-up university you will find drastic changes from year to year, in the curriculum, in the use of facilities and the very fabric of the community. And these changes can be influenced tremendously by your input. As a Mechanical Engineering student, one particular example comes to mind. In 2011, the second year our university was founded, the Engineering department thought it was clear that for our class and the class below, only Computer, Electrical and Electronic engineering would be offered as fields of study. It seemed the message had become distorted along the way as more than half the class were planning to study Civil and Mechanical Engineering. Some of us thought the faculty knew better, but others fought and expressed their opinion. In the coming days, fierce discussions took place between administration, faculty and students and eventually, after much debate NYUAD agreed to offer a full fledged pallette of engineering options. What seemed to be absolute certainty was in actual fact a situation that we moulded with our faculty to suit everyone’s needs. It may seem as if it were battle, but we all worked together.

Take advantage of the uncertainty (autonomy, risk taking, leadership)

After that experience, students began to realise the value of expressing their opinion. They began taking initiative and before my departure with the rest of the inaugural class, there were students on most committees that made decisions about the community and our academics. Indeed, the Student Government even had two seats and complete voting power on the Faculty Council. We began to understand that “leaving a legacy” was more than flowery statements, it was hard work. Apart from shaping our institute’s future, we realised we were put into positions of leadership. By expressing our opinions and taking on the responsibility of representing ourselves, we were being given exposure to autonomy, we were taking risks and learning to work with diverse people, of all nationalities and age groups. These experiences I believe are a fundamental aspect that is unique to both our campuses and will become invaluable in the work place. The key here is to take initiative and to realise that all stakeholders want a successful NYU Global Network. A question remains however (and I have been grappling with this myself for quite some time). The inaugural class of NYUAD has graduated, with more robust, impactful experience than most places would ever allow. It is true to say that these opportunities were provided particularly because we were a start-up university. As NYUAD has grown, I’ve realised bureaucracy and hierarchy have crept into our processes. Students are still given the opportunity to make an impact, but it’s become more difficult to communicate that to the underclassmen. Of course, this is a consequence of growth in any institute; but if we are truly unique, we must figure out how to continue functioning as if we are a start-up. We must implement unique processes that allow for responsibility and risk to be taken, constantly grooming our students to become leaders who find uncertainty a welcome familiarity.

Small communities and their challenges

Few universities around the world possess the small communities that NYUAD and NYUSH do. The unique challenges we face as a whole and the common mission to make these project a success bind our small communities together. Perhaps the biggest factor is that we’re all away from home whether that may be in the next province or on another continent. I have found that we can categorise our students into three main groups: a) those who consider Abu Dhabi or Shanghai their homes, b) those who have lived in one community their entire lives and have now moved abroad for the first time to study and c) those who have been constantly travelling through childhood and youth (or as they usually call us, the Third Culture Kids). Often we will find that each group has different challenges but it is much easier to handle them in small communities. One will find that you may manage to see almost every student in a single day (most of which you’d be on a first-name basis with). This often leads to challenges that are uncommon to most of our friends in other colleges around the world. In particular, separating our working relationships with our personal feelings for people can become rather difficult especially when you’re constantly seeing them. One fascinating thing I’ve learnt is that slide tackling a player during intramural football may affect interaction in class, especially when that player is the professor. One of the other major challenges in becoming a part of such a small community is that one may become dependant on it. The sense of familiarity and family may become such a big part of one’s life, that leaving the community becomes difficult. When NYU Abu Dhabi’s first class studied abroad in New York, 85 of us were put in the same dormitory and many of us (myself included) made no effort to become friends with students outside our already established groups. We simply remained within the bounds of our own community and that can often be a limiting factor to exploration and growth. Small communities have their advantages; but they also possess unique challenges. A balance is to be struck to ensure that we harness their benefits but efficiently tackle the hurdles they may pose to our development.

Final Thoughts

As our institutes grow, we have yet to meet a great number of unforeseen challenges. These we will face together, regardless of where you feel you belong. For whether or not we acknowledge it, our actions and what we do with our lives will be a continuous reflection on our institutes. It is a big responsibility but we have all taken risks to be here, and I think that shows we do believe there is some truth in the fact that these projects really are at the forefront of global education. This article was written by Mohammed Omar. Send an email to [email protected] to get in touch. Photo Credit: NYU Abu Dhabi