Fired Up About Dubai

Illawarra Mercury

Tuesday June 3, 2008

Faculty of Science Dean Professor Rob Whelan will be swapping bushfires for sun-baked desert sands when he takes up his new post as President of the University of Wollongong in Dubai (UOWD) later this year.

A biologist and one of Australia's leading bushfire ecology experts, Prof Whelan will take over as head of the off-shore university on August 31.

Author of the textbook The Ecology of Fire, Prof Whelan joined the University of Wollongong 25 years ago and has been Dean of the Faculty of Science since 2002.

UOWs Vice-Principal (Overseas Operations) Dr James Langridge said Prof Whelan's long and illustrious career as an academic made him an ideal choice for the key role.

"Prof Whelan has a record of injecting new ideas and strategies into organisations, managing and leading senior level teams and interacting with external stakeholders at all levels," Dr Langridge said.

UOWD was established in 1993 and now boasts 2500 students.

Prof Whelan said he was excited by UOWD's prospects for growth and the development of new courses.

"I am looking forward to building on the success UOWD has had over the past 15 years," he said.

"UOWD has built a very strong platform for expansion, and part of my brief is to look at the best strategic opportunities to broaden the range of courses offered.

"UOWD has a strong track record for delivering excellent postgraduate courses for people in professional transition in business and IT fields, and we will be building on that in other fields.

"For example the university has just launched an important Masters course in engineering management to help engineers move from the technical side of their profession to management, and we will be looking to do something similar in scientific research.

"But we will also be looking at opportunities to broaden the education offered into a range of areas such as engineering, the social sciences and health and society.

Professor Whelan is excited about the prospect of living in Dubai.

"The Dubai role is a great opportunity professionally and personally," Prof Whelan said.

"It is a chance to help build an institution that is pretty much the same size as the University of Wollongong was when I arrived here 25 years ago."

© 2008 Illawarra Mercury

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