Ahlia University (AU) is the first private university licensed by the Government of the Kingdom of Bahrain under the Cabinet decision No. 03-1626, dated 25th March 2001. It is an autonomous university which is independently chartered and which is funded and managed by the private sector. The founders have articulated their vision of a distinctive institution of higher education to ensure that science and technology on the one hand and humanities and social sciences on the other take their rightful place in the building and advancement of our society. They aspire to create a centre of research and learning which naturally links up with the economic, cultural, scientific and industrial sectors of society in a productive co-operation.

All the professional programmes offered by AU are affiliated and accredited by highly reputed and distinguished leading universities in the UK and USA. The curricula of all degrees consist of a core component and a specialization component. In accordance with the philosophy of the university, the core component pays special attention to humanities and social sciences as subject matter best able to assist students in becoming enlightened human beings whose tolerance and open-mindedness extend to all mankind.

The specialization component is based on a combination of academic and professional expertise. It is our belief that this will produce graduates who can function successfully in the job environment. Equally significant is the fact that the traditional boundaries between disciplines are currently becoming obsolete due to the increasing complexity of modern technology and, therefore, all programmes have been designed to include interdisciplinary and multidisciplinary inputs.

With the opening of AU in Bahrain, students throughout the Gulf have, for the first time, the opportunity to join a truly progressive and challenging institution of higher education. They receive a technologically sophisticated education combined with a highly distinctive, liberal arts education. All the courses are taught by a select faculty who possess outstanding academic credentials and have relevant practical and professional experience.

  MISSION STATEMENT  

• AU is committed to produce graduates distinguished by their professional competence, humanistic outlook, uncompromising ethics, pragmatic approach to problem solving, and organizational and managerial skills.

• With respect to the spheres of science, technology, and business education, AU aspires to be an acknowledged centre of excellence serving as both an effective agent of change and a model for other institutions to emulate.

  GOALS

-To attract the most talented faculty and to provide them with state-of-the-art facilities for teaching and research in an intellectually stimulating environment.

-To attract students of high calibre admitting with a view to the creation of a multicultural, co-educational, international academic community.

-To provide students with a rich and varied campus life that fosters their personal growth and supports their transition to responsible adulthood in a rapidly changing world.

-To integrate liberal studies and professional education, periodically revised to be inline with academic trends of esteemed off-shore academic institutions, to impart to students both breadth of knowledge and depth of specialization.

  LOCATION AND AMENITIES

Ahlia University is situated in Manama at the crossroads of the Gulf. Ahlia University’s urban campus is located in Gosi Complex at the foot of Exhibitions Road just astride the Diplomatic Area, the Gulf’s pre-eminent banking center, yet only four kilometres from the Bahrain International Airport on Muharraq Island. Ample parking behind and inside the GOSI Center facilitates commutation, be it from Bahrain or from Saudi Arabia. Saudi students living in the Eastern Province are eligible to subscribe to the University’s transportation plan. A conveniently located food court on the first floor in the GOSI Center astride the University provides students not only access to a variety of soft drinks and light snacks but also a comfortable place to relax between studies. Outside the GOSI Center, several restaurants are located within easy walking distance of the Ahlia campus.  

  ACADEMIC FACILITIES

The Library: Ahlia University subscribes to the philosophy that provision of state-of-the-art library resources to its students and faculties lies at the heart of the mission of any institution of higher learning. To this end, Ahlia Library maintains a dedicated collection of conventional books clustered to the knowledge spheres of the disciplines of various colleges spanning: computer science and information systems; applied mathematics, statistics and operations research; accounting, banking, economics, finance, management and marketing; communications and public relations; medical science and physiotherapy; and interior and graphic design.

Ahlia University Library is the first of its kind in the Gulf Countries to implement (radio frequency identification) RFID technology-based “Virtua” Library Management System. The RFID system provides for security of print and other circulatory material based on electronic chips. In view of technological developments, however, Ahlia, in terms of its investment in knowledge media, regards electronic libraries as increasingly taking precedence over conventional libraries inasmuch as electronic libraries reach out to all their patrons from their desktops. Consonant with its progressive approach to knowledge management, Ahlia University has implemented a Digital Library to cater to the present and future informational needs of its student-body and faculty.

 State of the Art Digital Library: The library provides access to over 40,000 e-journals and 10,000 e-books through subscription to nine on-line databases from various publishers such as EBASCO Proquest, Lexis Nexis, OCLC and Bepress across disciplines taught at the University, which serves to keep students and faculty alike in touch with current academic literature.

In addition, postgraduate students enrolled in the Brunel PhD without residence administered by Ahlia University have access to the entire electronic holdings of Brunel University’s elibrary encapsulated in a further 120 databases. The virtual library’s mission is to provide 24 hours/day 7 days/week access to patrons and strives to be the best virtual library in the Kingdom of Bahrain that uses this cutting edge technology to drive its knowledge acquisition process.

Computer Laboratories and Design Studios: Ahlia University’s four dedicated computer laboratories, internet-enabled and linked to the University’s LAN, provide students in the College of Mathematical Sciences and Information Technology and the College of Business and Finance with computational resources utile in applying technical knowledge gained in theoretical courses to the design of models and algorithms as well as in carrying out independent research.

Ahlia University’s two design studios, equipped with modern drafting equipment, represent an integral component of courses in the Departments of Interior Design and Graphic Design.

Ahlia University Media Production Centre

Representing the fruits of a major capital investment initiative designed to catapult Ahlia University into the vanguard of private universities in the GCC countries offering students practical skills in the sphere of mass communication, The Production Media Centre consists of four key components:

Photography Studio: Equipped with state-of–the art digital cameras, strobe units and computing suites with editing photo composite software, the Photography Studio provides students with powerful photographic equipment permitting highly effective image editing that produces powerful visual effects.

Field Production Unit: The Field Production Unit provides students, whether creating an in-depth case study or documentary with technology essential to on-location video shooting, editing and production. TV Production Studio: HD technology provides students with the edifice to explore camera operation, make up, lighting, audio and sound mixing, character generation for titling, acting, moderating, costuming and set designing.

Post Production Unit:

Spanning graphic design, transferal of footage for editing using the latest computer software, or film screening, the Post Production Unit provides a vast suite of resources necessary for students to refine their creative productions..

Ahlia University’s Media Production Centre primarily supports students in the Department of Mass Communications & Public Relations with a high-tech venue designed to impart and to refine practical skills in media production requisite to navigate effectively through contemporary dimensions of mass communications.