A ceremony was held mid February 2015 to officially open Bahrain Polytechnic’s Writing and Language Centre; aiming to help individuals, whether students, tutors or non-academic staff, to become better and more self-sufficient writers through one-to-one tutoring sessions which are adapted to individual needs.
With already 400 appointments taken (an increase of 137% on the previous semester), students who visit the Writing Centre are drawn from across the Polytechnic’s population, such as Fourth-year Degree students seeking help with their final degree projects or staff members who seek assistance with work-related written communication.
The Writing Centre is staffed by a group of experienced and trained tutors skilled in reading and responding to students’ writing and especially trained to help others develop strategies to become more independent writers. The new centre is equipped with up-to-date equipment and software to aid Centre Manager, Ms. Laura Lobato, and tutors to provide an excellent community service.
The Language Centre was set up to provide language courses to non-teaching staff at the Polytechnic as well as language services to Bahrain’s business sector and the wider community. The Language Centre is a licensed City and Guilds Centre. City and Guilds are the leading skills development organization, providing services to training providers, employers, and trainees across a variety of sectors to meet the needs of today’s workplace.
At the opening ceremony for the new Language Centre facility, certificates were presented to those staff that successfully completed their City and Guilds English for Business Communications examinations.
In total, 18 staff took a course; thirteen in Level 1 and five in Level 2. The pass rate was 92% and 100% respectively with two-thirds achieving first class passes. These courses benefit staff in several ways with the most notable being the chance to gain an internationally recognized qualification, and the second to improve written workplace communication skills through realistic situations.
Dean of Humanities, Dr. Sajida Tabbara, said: “This exciting new development allows the Faculty of Humanities and the Polytechnic to further extend its services to Polytechnic students, allied staff, academics and the wider Bahrain community by providing access to a range of language and learning based services through a dedicated, contemporary space that matches international standards.”
Dr. Mohamed, Acting CEO, stated: “This just goes to show the level of commitment we have to follow our Strategic Plan 2015-2019, approved by our chair of the Board of Trustees Sheikh Hisham Bin Abdulaziz Al Khalifa. We hope to keep contributing to the government action plan 2015-2018 and the Bahrain 2030 Vision.”
The second batch of staff have just sat their examinations and are eagerly waiting for their results. On completion of both course offerings, they were externally audited by City and Guilds and are delighted to announce that the Polytechnic passed on both occasions.
The centre was opened by Dr. Mohamed Al Aseeri, Acting CEO, in the presence of Dr. Hasan Almulla, Deputy CEO, Deans, tutors, allied staff and other guests.
