SHARJAH – The first diplomas of their kind in the Gulf related to heritage were launched by Sharjah Institute for Heritage in Sharjah, the United Arab Emirates in 2016. The vocational learning at Sharjah Institute for Heritage aims at graduating generations that are knowledgeable in cultural heritage and are ready to transfer this valuable knowledge to younger generations. It also aims at preparing students for their future by focusing on their practical skills and not just limited to theoretical learning. "I was honestly surprised by the number of students of the first class. They were all from the Emirates and they reached 130 students. They were truly educated and experienced. However, they came here just to have a more practical exposure in cultural heritage. I would also like to mention that these diplomas mainly target the youth as they are the ones mostly in need of expansion to their cultural heritage knowledge," said Dr. Mohammed Hassan Abdelhafiz, the academic director. "It is our priority to give students the chance to be creative and we do get impressed with the outcome later on," added Dr. Basma Waleed Kashmoola, academic deputy director. The institute provides six various diplomas. It is said to take around three months and are available for any student who looks forward to digging deep into heritage. This includes students from all backgrounds whether an Emirati, Arab, or even a non-Arab student. "The diplomas provided for now are mainly in Arabic. However, in the near future, the institute will provide the diplomas in both Arabic and English. This will happen after signing some agreements between the Sharjah Institute for Heritage and some international universities," clarified Dr. Basma Kashmoola. The main goal of these diplomas is to educate the generations. Therefore, it costs AED3,900 only and that includes the registration as well as the books. "It is important to realize that we will also launch the longer diplomas very soon. These diplomas will be almost 18 months. So whoever completed a diploma now will have it as 15 months instead of 18. This way we ensure that students who are studying now will also be benefited from the longer diplomas," stated Dr. Basma Kashmoola.
