The President’s Blog
28/08/2025 2025-09-18 9:37The President’s Blog
The President's Blog
To be, To Do and To Want
A few evenings ago, I found myself in a surprisingly deep conversation with my 11-year-old, trying to explain the verb “to be.” What started as a fairly innocent grammar discussion became something much harder to articulate. The more we explored it, the more I realised that “being” isn’t a simple concept at all. In fact, it may be one of the hardest things to explain, and perhaps even harder to practise. In education we often talk about what people do. We build curricula around skills, we set outcomes and assessments, we track performance. All of that matters. Action is necessary. Doing gives us agency. It’s how we participate in the world and how we make change possible. But I worry that we don’t give nearly enough attention to the deeper questions of being. Who are our students becoming—not just in terms of careers, but as people? Are they learning to …
The Human Edge: Why Personalised Mentorship is the Future of Learning
In a world increasingly driven by algorithms and automated processes, it’s easy to believe that efficiency alone is the key to progress. But at Euro University of Bahrain, we hold a different view: the true power of education lies in its human heart. While AI excels at delivering information, it cannot replicate the nuanced guidance, the personal insights, or the tailored encouragement that a dedicated mentor provides. This is why we are deeply committed to personalised mentorship and learning. Education, for us, is not a one-size-fits-all conveyor belt. It’s a journey that requires careful navigation, inspired by individual potential. Our faculty don’t just teach subjects; they invest in our students as individuals, offering crafted support and building relationships that transcend the lecture hall. This commitment to quality relationships ensures that: We believe that true value in education isn’t just about the volume of knowledge absorbed, but the depth of understanding …
Teaching in 2025: Why Human Connection Still Matters Most
Last week I had the privilege of attending Bahrain Polytechnic’s Teaching and Learning 2025 conference. The theme — “Can AI Replace Teachers?” — sparked valuable reflection. While many of the presentations focused on practical uses of today’s AI tools, the bigger takeaway for me lay elsewhere. It reaffirmed a belief I’ve long held: that AI, for all its promise, cannot replace the human core of education. Teaching is not just content delivery — it is connection, inspiration and interpretation. As AI becomes more embedded in our systems, we must resist the temptation to reduce education to automation. Instead, we should focus on how AI can support the qualities only humans bring: empathy, communication, critical thinking, ethical judgement — and equally important, the uniquely human capacities for art, imagination and creativity. In the rush to integrate AI, we must remember: students are not datasets, and learning is not a transaction. It …
In a world where machines think faster than us, what gives humans their true edge?
During a quiet moment of reflection, sparked by a conversation with an AI agent, I found myself pondering a profound question: Why do humans continue to strive to learn, create and understand — even as machines surpass us in raw intelligence? Humans don’t just solve problems; we seek to understand 𝘸𝘩𝘺 they matter. We long to belong, to contribute and to create meaning. We push ourselves to climb Everest not simply because it exists, but to feel the limits of our endurance. We went to the Moon not just because it was hard, but because it stirred our curiosity and sense of wonder. At Euro University of Bahrain, education is more than transactional. It’s existential. Our focus goes beyond preparing students for jobs — we prepare them for lives rich with curiosity, courage and contribution. We teach not just to transfer knowledge, but to inspire transformation. Quality education requires investment. But …
Simon Sinek said “You can’t scale special”
It’s a warning that feels especially relevant in education. The pressure to grow quickly — to scale — can often come at the expense of what truly matters: the depth of experience, the quality of relationships and the crafted support that students need to thrive. When you chase volume, the personal connections that make education meaningful start to fray. The time for thoughtful mentoring shrinks. Learning becomes a process to get through, rather than a journey to be lived. That’s why scaling “special” isn’t just difficult — it risks breaking the very thing that made it special. At Euro University of Bahrain, our founders embraced this reality. They drew on a rich European tradition of education that values quality over quantity, relationships over transactions and deep personal growth over fast expansion. Building a university this way takes patience and intention. It’s not the easiest path, but it’s the right one. …
Professor Andrew Nix is the President and CEO of Euro University of Bahrain. He has published more than 600 international papers and successfully supervised 65+ PhD students. He is well-known for his ground-breaking research contributions that shaped the Wi-Fi and Bluetooth standards. More recently, Professor Andrew’s 5G wireless research is globally recognized for tackling societal challenges related to smart cities, urban transportation and digital healthcare.
