UAE a growing destination for global students, says higher education chief as numbers surge

International student numbers are up 39 per cent at Middlesex University Dubai

Students at Middlesex University Dubai. There was a 13 per cent rise in UAE higher education enrolments in 2024-2025. Photo: Middlesex University Dubai

The UAE offers international students “the right environment and the right programmes at the right price”, says a higher education leader, amid a surge in enrolments and rising standards at the country's universities.

Majed Al Mutairi, chief executive of Almasar Alshamil Education, said there has been a 12 per cent increase in students at Middlesex University Dubai in 2025 – to more than 6,400 – driven by a 39 per cent rise in international students.

The growth mirrors the strides being made in education across the Emirates. The 66 higher education institutions in the UAE admitted 57,035 students from the Emirates and abroad for the 2024-2025 academic year, up 13 per cent on the previous year and the highest number in the past decade, figures released on Wednesday by the Ministry of Higher Education and Scientific Research showed.

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The progress is down to many factors including government policies, a surging economy, visa rules, good infrastructure and accommodation, and geopolitics, Mr Al Mutairi told The National.

“The UAE [has] positioned itself today as a destination for international students seeking high-quality higher education and a UK-based degree.”

It has created “the right environment and the right programmes at the right price”, said Mr Al Mutairi, who spoke on Wednesday at the Education Investment Mena conference in Dubai on “why investors are betting big on education”.

The campus of Middlesex University Dubai. Photo: Middlesex University Dubai

Almasar Alshamil Education provides higher education in the UAE, encompassing Middlesex University Dubai, the emirate's largest private university, and Nema Holding, the largest tertiary education group in Abu Dhabi, which operates Abu Dhabi University and Liwa University.

The company, currently in the final stages of an IPO process on the Saudi Arabian stock exchange, also provides special education and care through its subsidiary, the Human Development Company, based in Riyadh.

Move away from US

Gulf students are increasingly shifting away from US institutions due to concerns about personal safety, gun control and fees.

The number of Emiratis studying in the US almost halved between 2015 and 2023, from 2,900 to 1,500, while the number of Saudi students in the US fell from 61,287 to 15,989 in the same period. US President Donald Trump’s temporary clampdown on foreign student visas in May this year also had an effect.

Mr Al Mutairi said he thought the conditions in the US and Europe were “helping” to boost numbers in the UAE, but there were many other factors at work.

“We have the right environment here: job opportunities, ability to find accommodation, safety and security. I think all these elements really have created the right image in the minds of international students.”

Mr Al Mutairi said at Middlesex, courses in business, IT, cybersecurity and AI are popular, with huge demand from employers for higher degrees.

“We're very proud of what we've been able to offer our students in terms of opportunity for education and also engaging them further once they are here to find the right jobs.”

Rising population

The increase in students is consistent with long-term trends as the UAE population rises. Dubai education regulator the Knowledge and Human Development Authority in May said there was a 20 per cent increase in overall enrolment in the 2024/25 academic year, bringing the total number of students to a record 42,026.

It said there was a 29 per cent increase in international student enrolment and they now make up 35 per cent of the total student body.

Authorities in the UAE and across the GCC have made significant investments in higher education in recent years.

This is increasingly reflected by rankings. The UAE in June climbed to sixth place in an international league table of most improved countries for quality of university subjects offered.

Almost half (49 per cent) of the UAE's 60 ranked entries improved, in the QS Quacquarelli Symonds World University Rankings by Subject, with only 14 per cent scoring lower than last year.

Majed Al Mutairi, chief executive of Almasar Alshamil Education. Photo: Almasar Alshamil Education

Mr Al Mutairi said Almasar Alshamil Education works closely with the UAE government “in terms of size, in terms of availability of facilities in schools and campuses … and we are very much aligned with them in terms of future needs”.

The company has also signed an agreement to bring the UK's Heriot-Watt University to Saudi Arabia, where there is significant demand for higher education due to the influx of people, giga projects under construction and major investment, he said.

Mr Al Mutairi said he felt there was increasing openness around the rising use of artificial intelligence.

He said it is becoming an important tool, which his company uses in special needs centres in Saudi Arabia to help measure how students learn.

“If it is used properly, it is a tremendous help, especially in education.”