[1] CASAW was one of the five inter-institutional Centres of Excellence set up as part of the ESRC, AHRC, SFC and HEFCE's Language Based Area Studies Initiative.
[1][permanent dead link] CASAW brought together some 50 full-time members of staff and postdoctoral fellows drawn from a variety of departments in the arts, humanities and social and political sciences, all working on areas directly related to the Arabic speaking world.
During the remaining 3 years of their course, PhD candidates continue to receive language tuition and are expected to conduct 12 months of fieldwork in the Arab World.
In addition to its academic obligations, CASAW undertakes a number other activities, including consultancy to government, media, and business, tailor made language programmes for public and private sector users, and flagship events.
[6] These events have included a partnership with the Royal Society of Edinburgh to present the lecture series entitled "Perspectives on the Arab World",[7] a Careers Workshop for students of Arabic throughout the UK,[8] an Islamic finance summer school, as well as numerous one day symposia, film showings, discussion groups and addresses from eminent politicians and public figures,[9] as well as conferences, such as the international conference on "Re-Thinking Jihad" held 7–9 September 2009.