Mastering the UAE's performing arts

The Paris-Sorbonne University Abu Dhabi (PSUAD) has launched a new master's in performing arts management (Pam) to meet a growing need for music and arts industry professionals in the region. PSUAD's aim is to help make Abu Dhabi a cultural hub by training professionals in the performing arts industry to international standards. "Pam is a growing field which encompasses a vast and variable range of studies, including law, marketing, finance and technology," Kevin Kleinmann, PSUAD lecturer of music management, said. "Therefore, it is important to have locally trained people to deal with this industry." He added that the UAE already hosts world-class events like the Formula 1, the Abu Dhabi Classics and the Dubai Jazz Festival. Therefore, the programme is bound to have an impact and be a success, having already been running on the Paris campus for more than two decades. "Pam professionals are in great need in this region. The programme has become significantly popular in Paris so we wanted to provide this educational experience to students and professionals here in the UAE," Gilles Demonet, who is responsible for the programme in Paris, said. The programme will see international music academics train students. Other professionals will also impart their knowledge, expertise and skills to the students. "The main objective is to create top-level international music industry professionals here to cater to this country and region," Kleinmann said. The programme is intended to provide students with the necessary tools to allow them to identify local talent, promote, develop and project this talent within the country and beyond. "We strongly believe this degree will help people of the UAE express their culture through music, entertainment and art without foreign influences," Frédéric Billiet, head of the music and musicology department at the Paris Sorbonne University, said. "It will help them create art institutions and form local artists who will shape the industry with their own trademarks." The new programme promises a large scope of job opportunities in industries, including television, radio, hospitality and tourism. "Unlike other industries, the business of music sells products that 97 per cent of people in the world love and consume on a daily basis. That's why this degree will offer several job opportunities, considered to be dream jobs," Kleinmann added. The postgraduate degree will be delivered in English over a two-year period and comprises 200 hours of lectures and 400 hours of internship. Classes will take place three days a month. "The programme can be done in the UAE, Paris or the rest of Europe or anywhere else in the world, as music is an international language and an international business," Demonet said. The programme will include 12 courses focused on programming, managing touring artists, setting up enterprises and organising concerts, among many more.