UAE ‘big winner’ from West’s anti-internationalisation turn
Universities in the United Arab Emirates are benefiting from the row-back on internationalisation in Western countries and a pivot towards skills-based learning, experts have said, after the education ministry announced significant annual growth in higher education enrolments.
According to new government figures, the number of students enrolling at UAE institutions rose by 15 per cent in 2025-26, compared with the year prior, bringing total enrolments to more than 218,000.
The total number of new students enrolled exceeded 64,000, including approximately 32,000 Emirati students.
Students enrolled in diploma and higher diploma programmes – shorter courses offered by universities targeted at skills gaps and career development as opposed to traditional bachelor’s degrees – grew by 173 per cent between 2021-22 and 2025-26, rising from 3,995 to 10,926.
In recent years, the UAE has sought to grow its university sector as it looks to move away from an oil economy, and has welcomed several branch campuses in recent years, including NYU Abu Dhabi and the University of Birmingham Dubai, which has been credited with growing the influence of the sector’s status as a global higher education destination.
Christopher Davidson, an academic specialising in Arab Gulf states, said the increase has been “mainly driven” by the expansion of university diplomas, “as the government has encouraged more flexible admissions pathways, aimed at boosting the number of courses linked to national economic priorities”.
He said that the country’s universities have also been at the forefront of AI education, including through the establishment of the Mohamed bin Zayed University of Artificial Intelligence in Abu Dhabi, which opened its doors to students in 2021.
“Compared to providers elsewhere in the region, the UAE’s universities have gone the furthest in offering ‘new’ courses on subjects such as AI, renewable energy, public health, etc. Students, both Emiratis and expatriates, almost certainly see these degrees as a way to stay competitive as employers’ skills requirements change,” Davidson said.
Cameron Mirza, executive project director at the International Research & Exchanges Board, said he was “not surprised” by the growth, adding the country is increasingly becoming a “very attractive destination” for students.
He agreed with Davidson that the country’s “big push” towards artificial intelligence, both in academia and the jobs market, is prompting further interest in the UAE.
“They’ve got a clear strategy for AI and are establishing themselves as a major hub for AI – not just to go and study and be at the cutting edge of things, but also in terms of post-graduation employment, so you can’t think of many better countries to go and base yourself in.”
With Western governments turning their back on international student recruitment, the UAE is becoming one of the “big winners” in filling the void left by countries like the US and UK, Mirza said. Especially for Middle Eastern students, “the cost of studying overseas and visa regulations, particularly in the UK and US, are for sure having an impact on helping families make decisions about where their children should go and study”.
The country’s embrace of international branch campuses – more so than other countries in the region – has drawn further attention to the UAE’s higher education sector, helping attract “high-calibre professors and academics”, Mirza added.
“The key thing is the quality of the provision now on offer in the UAE is significantly higher than it was a decade ago…And the fact that students can get an internationally recognised degree from a top UK or US university gives some mobility after graduation.”
Overall, “the signs are that this growth will only continue over this next period”.
He said: “If you look at the whole picture, the credibility of the UAE higher education system has really evolved into a high-performing system that offers students not just a variety of traditional and non-traditional higher education experiences, but also an opportunity for employment post-graduation, which I think a lot of countries are struggling with.”
juliette.rowsell@timeshighereducation.com