The New York-based Cold Spring Harbour Laboratory (CSHL) is exploring the possibility of opening a new branch of its Dolan DNA Learning Centre in Abu Dhabi, the capital of the Unites Arab Emirates. The centre will offer training in genetics and life sciences for teachers and students in the country.

The project, which is a result of multiple collaborations with the Higher Colleges of Technology, proposes setting up a system for science education and genetics. It will teach advanced techniques genetics and science which will be implemented into the education system in schools and universities.

“There are a number of things we are interested in doing and we’ve been talking to the HCT about the idea of boosting science education through a programme CSHL runs called the DNA Learning Centre,” Bruce Stillman, president of CSHL, told Gulf News.

He hopes the project may expand, with other countries in the region opening similar centres to boost science education.

The important role that genetics may play in the near future in the personalised medicine era means it is important for the general population, and not just the scientific and medical communities.

The new centre will come up with interesting ways to make learning about genetics fun in schools, in a bid to get schoolchildren excited about science.