Kingdom of Bahrain is unique in the gulf region. Renowned for its culture supporting openness and tolerance and displaying economic prosperity, it has earned itself the nickname ‘Pearl of the Gulf’. With a major emphasis on natural geographic and human capital development, the Bahrainis have crafted a business environment that nurtures foreign companies’ prosperity.

In turn, this has created a steady flow of jobs for the people, who are widely known as the Gulf’s most educated and skilled, enabling businesses to minimize spending on expatriate packages. Bahraini women are highly educated as well, and well represented in all major professions.

One such revered institution to promote the values of quality education and encourage the evolving business culture is the University College of Bahrain (UCB).

Established in 2002, UCB is a modern, private, and co-ed university college at Saar, in the kingdom of Bahrain, well-known as one of the best private universities, specializing in business management, information technology, communication and multimedia. UCB offers Bachelor of Science degrees and MBA programs.

UCB was founded in 2002 by Dr. Shaikh Khalid bin Mohamed AlKhalifa, licensed by the Ministry of Education of the kingdom of Bahrain. The university is one of the oldest universities in the kingdom, embracing local and international quality assurance standards, educating students from over 70 nationalities.

The university is designed to provide an international teaching and learning experience entirely conducted in the English language, particularly specializing in business administration, communication and multimedia, and information technology.

“UCB courses are developed in a way to fulfil the current job market needs and is of the most superior quality. UCB curriculum are reviewed and updated regularly according to the market needs”.

The university provides a rigorous curriculum based on a semester credit hour system in the American liberal arts tradition, mostly attracting students from the Gulf region.

UCB works with a vision to provide a modern, quality-enhanced learning and teaching environment for students to ensure successful entry anywhere in the global economy. UCB’s success lies in developing undergraduates and postgraduates equipped with competencies, skills, and graduate attributes, who are ready, able, and equipped to engage in business, industry, and government. The university remains focused on delivering a caring and individualized student experience. To date, UCB has graduated over 2000 students from its undergraduate (UG) and postgraduate (PG) programs. UCB alumni are the largest stakeholder community and ambassadors of the university in Bahrain and abroad. UCB alumni are active members of their business communities.

Vision

The vision of UCB is to be the leading private university of choice in the kingdom of Bahrain for students, and other stakeholders, providing a quality assurance driven, and market-focused, education in the fields of the liberal arts and sciences.

Mission

The mission of UCB is to provide academic programmes of high quality, delivered through excellent teaching, informed by research and scholarship, that transform lives and equip graduates with the skills, knowledge, and competencies, to enable them to have fulfilling careers and meet the needs of society, government, business, and the economy.

Programs and Courses

UCB offers three programs at the undergraduate level, and students are able to opt for a choice of concentrations. The available programs and concentrations are as follows:

• Business Administration program with five concentrations (Management, Islamic Finance, Accounting, Marketing, Finance)
• Communication and Multimedia (Graphic Design, Public relations, Multimedia)
• Information Technology (Computer Science, Management Information Systems)

UCB also offers a Master of Business Administration program (MBA) with an emphasis on management and Islamic finance. All the programs have been developed to suit the current job market in the fields of finance, Islamic finance, management, accounting, marketing, media, graphic design, and information technology (IT).

Campus Culture

In a time of intensive competition in the higher education sector, UCB is continuously working on presenting itself as a unique university in the region. UCB campus is equipped with modern facilities, sound educational infrastructure, and very good student services.

UCB builds up its capacity to provide excellent service to its students and alumni. It provides students with a liberal education culture in a relaxed co-ed environment and a student-centred administration very sensitive to student needs.

UCB courses are developed in a way to fulfil the current job market needs and are of the most superior quality. The curriculum is reviewed and updated regularly according to market needs.

Preparing Technologically and Business-logically

Students at UCB are connected to the latest technologies and online services available today. The IT services and online platforms are offered to enhance students’ abilities in academics as well as their social interactions with other students, faculty, and staff.

• Microsoft Office 365 Education

– Available freely to the students, faculty and staff, this Office suite collaboration and sharing of services for all its users.

• Microsoft Teams – acts as the main learning management system at UCB.
• Turnitin – The automated webbased application aids majorly in assignments, proper revision habits, and also helps in detecting plagiarism.
• Questia – provider of innovative teaching, learning, and research solutions for the professional, library, and academic audiences worldwide.
• Adobe Creative Cloud – Empowers students to think creatively and communicate expressively, helping them convert classroom ideas into college and career opportunities.

When it comes to the business orientation and the relevant knowhow, UCB does not leave a stone unturned.

The academic departments and student affairs office at UCB work collaboratively in providing students with a substantial exposure to the professional world through guest lectures, webinars, exhibitions, conferences, workshops, and field trips aimed to enhance their knowledge in both academic and professional aspects.

These events and activities are tailored to empower students to develop the knowledge and skills they need to succeed in rapidly altering fields of study, which qualifies UCB alumni to work in the kingdom of Bahrain, the Gulf region, and globally.

Further, UCB integrates aspects of entrepreneurship and innovation into the curriculum and associated assessment regimes to prepare graduates for innovation and change in their professional working lives.

UCB students also benefit from formal and pre-approved internship placements in business and industry, the students benefit from Internship support, provided through a dedicated internship unit coordinator.

All students on internship receive academic supervision and visits whilst on their placement in business or industry. The internships provide an opportunity for students to practice and implement the theory they have acquired from academic study in the real world; and enable students to develop additional skills in the workplace.

Futureproofing

In the near future, UCB plans to introduce new specialized courses, that are geared to the needs of the labour market locally and regionally, such as cybersecurity, healthcare management, entrepreneurship, and family business.

The future for the University College of Bahrain and its students looks truly bright, illustrious, and prosperous.

The Holistic Leadership

As mentioned before the founder and chairman of the board of trustees is Dr. Shaikh Khalid bin Mohamed AlKhalifa. His role is to provide UCB with strategic leadership, carrying forth the vision of promoting the well-being of students in terms of education and providing excellent opportunities for learning and research, whilst upholding and representing UCB’s academic credibility.

In his current position, Dr. Khalid has expanded the University College of Bahrain’s external relations locally, nationally, and internationally and played a key role in maintaining healthy relationships with the external bodies such as other higher educational institutes and the governmental departments. He has worked hard to create and implement a vision that has positioned UCB as an exceptional institution across Middle East.

As Chairman of UCB, Dr. Khalid works vigorously to sustain its existing operations, plan for growth, and maintain its competitiveness and leadership in the marketplace all the while making sure to provide quality education, so UCB graduates are equipped with the needed skills to be able to impact the economic and social development of the region.