The UAE’s next chapter

The UAE’s ability to attract international universities has created a new challenge: what comes next?

Its success in collaborating with overseas institutions has helped build one of the most internationalised higher education markets in the region. In Dubai, for example, there were 41 private higher education institutions in 2024-25, of which 37 were international branch campuses, enrolling 42,000 students, according to government data. International enrolment grew by 29 percent in the same period.

The UAE’s education-hub model was also built around purpose-designed clusters. The Dubai International Academic City and Dubai Knowledge Park now host more than 38,500 students across over 600 programmes, creating a concentrated base for international education. Other hubs like Sharjah University City and international branch campuses in Abu Dhabi show that the UAE has used several models to attract international institutions, from free-zone education clusters and knowledge hubs to government-backed university partnerships.

That growth matters because it changes the question facing the UAE. In the early years, international universities helped expand capacity, give students access to globally recognised qualifications and connect them to international academic networks without leaving the UAE.

Now, with a substantial international higher education presence already established, the focus is increasingly shifting to what those institutions contribute beyond enrolment.

Dr Mohamed Ebrahim Almualla, Higher Education Senior Advisor and former Undersecretary for Academic Affairs at the UAE Ministry of Higher Education and Scientific Research (MoHESR), says, “The UAE’s higher education model is not moving away from internationalisation but rather entering a more mature phase of internationalisation.”

The earlier phase, he says, centered on expanding capacity, offering more higher education options and positioning the UAE as a regional higher education hub. The next phase is more strategic. “The UAE now expects higher education to contribute directly to national competitiveness, talent development, research depth, innovation capacity and economic diversification,” he tells QS Insights.

The changing role of TNE

Dubai’s private higher education sector includes institutions from the UK, France, Australia, the US, Italy and Germany. But a recent focus on partnerships from the Global South, such as IIT Delhi-Abu Dhabi and Peking University HSBC Business School, are broadening the UAE’s academic networks, research strengths and models of international engagement.

The UAE’s role is also increasingly regional, serving the wider Gulf and MENA region. Academic research on Gulf TNE has described cities such as Dubai as “gateway” locations, connecting international universities with students and academic networks across the region.

Professor Kaka sees TNE moving beyond its traditional role of delivering an overseas qualification locally.

“The knowledge, research and expertise developed through these partnerships can also benefit the institution’s home country and other locations where it operates,” he says. “Rather than simply importing education, TNE can increasingly become a two-way exchange of knowledge, talent and capability.”

But that transition is uneven. Dr Odhabi notes that while some international campuses have developed meaningful research and industry links, others remain primarily teaching operations with limited research capacity or long-term local engagement. There is also a risk of programme duplication, with institutions competing in similar areas rather than addressing emerging national needs.

For Dr Almualla, the next phase requires international universities and branch campuses to become more deeply embedded in the local ecosystem. That includes developing research agendas connected to UAE priorities, building partnerships with industry and government, supporting graduate education and applied research, contributing to Emirati and resident talent development, and helping translate knowledge into innovation and enterprise.

“Branch campuses that succeed in the next phase will be those that act not only as teaching institutions, but as long-term knowledge partners,” he says.

The UAE’s policy framework is increasingly designed to test this distinction. Its Outcome-Based Evaluation Framework places greater emphasis on graduate employability, research, industry collaboration and international engagement.

“What is particularly important is that this direction applies not only to home-grown universities, but to the whole higher education sector, including international branch campuses, regardless of where they are based in the UAE,” says Professor Kaka.

The shift is also evident in efforts to connect universities more directly with the economy. In 2026, MoHESR launched a pilot focused on industry sabbaticals, work-experience governance and greater participation by industry practitioners in education and research. The initiative includes academic staff spending time in industry, with the aim of strengthening programmes and applied research.

What comes after attracting universities?

The UAE is not starting from scratch. Institutions such as Khalifa University, NYU Abu Dhabi and UAE University have already built research capacity. The challenge is now connecting that capacity more deeply with the expanding international higher education market and wider economy.

This is a stage where the education-hub model enters a more difficult phase. Dr Odhabi points to gaps in industry-funded research, commercialisation pathways and the movement of professionals between universities and industry.

“Signing an agreement is the easy part,” he says. “The real measure is whether the partnership produces active projects, student opportunities, research outcomes, professional development or solutions that are actually implemented.”

Professor Kaka similarly identifies research capacity as one of the areas where the UAE needs to go further. “The UAE has very strong economic and innovation ambitions, and I think the research capability within the higher education sector will need to continue developing to support those ambitions.”

In Dubai, that ambition is beginning to translate into research infrastructure. The Dubai Research, Development and Innovation programme funds research aligned with the country’s economic priorities and aims to increase private-sector participation in R&D. Its first grant cycle supported 24 projects involving 13 universities and 43 academic entities.

The real test: what does the UAE produce?

The UAE has shown it can attract universities, students and talent. Its next challenge is turning that concentration of global expertise into knowledge and innovation with value beyond the institutions that generate it.

For Dr Odhabi, the metrics therefore need to change. Enrolment and institution numbers show attractiveness and scale, but not whether the UAE is becoming a knowledge economy.

He points instead to talent retention, research impact, innovation and commercialisation, sustained university–industry–government partnerships and, ultimately, knowledge exports.

“The UAE will be moving from a destination for international education to a producer and exporter of knowledge when its institutions lead multinational research programmes, influence policy and professional practice, produce commercially and socially valuable innovations, attract international doctoral students and export educational programmes, technologies and expertise,” he says.

Professor Kaka reaches a similar conclusion from the international university perspective.

“It is not really about institution numbers,” he says. “I think the UAE has already moved beyond that stage.”

The measure, he argues, should be the impact: whether universities contribute to innovation, research, business growth and new industries, producing “not only job seekers, but also job creators, entrepreneurs and innovators”.

That is a more demanding definition of success than becoming a global education destination.

The UAE’s education hubs have already created scale, international connectivity and access to global academic networks. The next phase is about converting those assets into something harder to build: research capability, talent retention, industry collaboration, innovation and knowledge that can travel in both directions.