American University of Sharjah (AUS) has recently signed an agreement with the British Council making the university an official IELTS test venue in Sharjah. Around 1,000-2,000 test takers are expected to register for IELTS test services during the first year.

The agreement was signed by Ali Shuhaimy, AUS Vice Chancellor for Enrollment Management, and Nick Godfrey, Regional Examinations Manager for the British Council, Middle East South. Also present at the signing ceremony were senior officials from AUS and the British Council.

Nick Godfrey praised AUS on the occasion and said, "American University of Sharjah has earned a reputation throughout the region for its academic excellence. It is recognized as a leading educational institution in the Gulf, serving students from the Middle East and from around the world. The reputation of AUS is a perfect fit for British Council's global language proficiency test IELTS." He further added, "British Council's IELTS is the world's most popular English language proficiency test for higher education and global migration, with over two million tests taken in the last year alone."

Shuhaimy said, "We are pleased to enter into an agreement with the British Council and believe that such associations play an important role in institutional development. We look forward to serving a large number of students through this partnership, and believe that we can co-operate and work together in other areas of mutual benefit."

IELTS is now accepted by more than 9,000 organizations in 135 countries around the world, including educational institutions, employers, governments, immigration authorities and professional bodies.