The United Arab Emirates (UAE) is bearing the brunt of ±ő°ùČčČÔ’s retaliation because of its close Western ties. The region’s most important education hub and the world’s second-largest host of foreign/joint campuses after China, UAE is currently a country where schools and universities have been told to close until further notice and deliver classes online – out of an “abundance of caution.”

In less than a fortnight, Iranian strikes in the region have at times stranded international students and tourists trying to secure flights home; led prospective students who planned to study there to change their plans; and rattled institutions considering or already operating branch campuses in Dubai and elsewhere.

A spotlight on the risks of TNE

The past two years have witnessed a spike in interest among Western and Asian universities in transnational delivery modes such as branch campuses, joint programmes, articulation agreements, etc. New interest is particularly high in countries where government policies are affecting students’ ability to get a visa or to afford the costs of studying. Higher entry barriers for students have cut deeply into new international enrolments in Australia, Canada, and the US, prompting more universities in those countries to begin or extend programme delivery overseas.

But as interesting as transnational education opportunities can be, they also come with significant risks, and these are being highlighted by the growing footprint of this war. Some foreign universities operating branch campuses in UAE and other Gulf States – or considering doing so – are reassessing their plans because of concerns about staff safety, insurance, and margin for losses and disruption.

Speaking to about numerous Canadian institutions operating in UAE that have been caught up in the chaos, David Robinson, executive director of the Canadian Association of University Teachers, said:

“Clearly, the current conflict shows the risks facing universities in the region. There was always the danger of conflict that many institutions ignored. The illusion that the Gulf States were safe havens for Canadian and other foreign educational ventures has been shattered.”&ČÔČúČő±è; 

John Trudinger, a headteacher at a school in Dubai whose staff includes 100 Britons, told :  â€œThe shine has definitely been taken off. ” He said that his British staff were “deeply traumatised and really struggling to cope” with the war and that they have left and won’t return.

Ambitions on hold

The war has also cast a pall on Middle Eastern states’ ambitions to attract foreign educator investment and international students to the region. Maia Chankseliani, professor of comparative and international education at the University of Oxford, told :

“Regional escalation is already raising the cost and complexity of internationalization for Gulf universities. It will prompt some partners to pause new campus commitments, intensify risk planning and make the higher education ambitions embedded in…national strategies more difficult to deliver on current timelines. There will be financial and reputational repercussions that outlast the immediate crisis, as in recent decades the Gulf states have positioned themselves deliberately as a serious site for higher education expansion, attracting branch campuses, research partnerships and internationally mobile students.”

A break in momentum

The Middle East – especially UAE – has been growing ever more popular among international students. Keystone Education Group reported that search volumes for the region were up +90% between March and June 2025, with the UAE accounting for about two-thirds of that surge.

India is by far the top market for universities and schools in the Gulf states, sending hundreds of thousands of students. According to agents interviewed last week by India’s , there is significant concern among Indian families about sending their children there. Sanjay Laul, founder of the recruitment platform MSM Unify, said: “About one-third of our applicants requested contingency discussions – deferrals, alternate intakes, or secondary destination options.”

Adarsh Khandelwal, the co-founder & director of Collegify, said that much will depend on timing. He predicted “a timing shock – deferrals, remote starts, and rerouting” rather than a “Canada-style volume shock.”

However, Studyportals reports that at the start of March, search traffic on its sites for study in Gulf countries was down -43% from the pre-conflict peak, and that the decline is ongoing.

Volatility continues

For international students, agents, and educators, the war is yet one more example of the challenging environment for making decisions about study plans or business strategies over the past couple of years.

The opportunities of transnational education and alternative destinations grew more compelling as immigration regimes tightened in the Big Four. But the current crisis reminds us that safety never goes away as the top concern for families considering study abroad. It also serves to illustrate the significant risk of operating a school or university in another country without always knowing if student and staff safety is as secure as it is at home.

Speaking with , higher education consultant Vincenzo Raimo noted that tensions in the Middle East tend to subside quickly once a deescalation process is agreed to, and that international educators are now very adept at pivoting in the face of disruption. Mr Raimo says the most likely lasting consequence of the Iran war in terms of transnational education activity is that there will be a slower rush to the gate among universities contemplating a new venture:

“[Any conflict] will mean greater board-level scrutiny, with leaders and governors seeking firmer assurance on scenario planning, duty of care for staff and students, and the implications for insurance, security costs, and reputation of perceptions of safety deteriorate.”

For additional background, please see:

• “Student mobility in MENA boosted by foreign partnerships and branch campuses”
• “Recruiting in the Emirates: Big goals, world-class education, and new scholarships”
• “UK transnational education enrolments poised to surpass onshore students this decade”&ČÔČúČő±è;

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Hong Kong, Singapore, Taiwan, and South Korea continue to attract greater interest, and each is recording significant gains in Q2 amidst continued policy disruption and/or visa delays in other major destinations.

Drawing on student search data from its web properties, Keystone reports that interest in these four “Asian Tiger” destinations grew by 19% between March and June 2025.

Within that broader trend:

• Student interest in Hong Kong grew by 125% quarter-over-quarter
• Singapore saw a 33% increase in search volumes over the same period, indicating, Keystone says, “the country’s successful efforts to brand itself as an affordable yet high-quality education destination”
• South Korea was also singled out in Keystone’s annual State of Student Recruitment Report, having entered the table of top ten destinations for the first time ever

“When combined, the four Asian Tigers are currently more popular amongst searching audience than Japan and China,” adds Keystone. “Data shows that the Asian Tigers are attracting students from across the Asia-Pacific region, with students from India most interested, followed by Indonesia.”

The growing popularity of these — and other — destinations in Asia, can be attributed to investment in higher education and in initiatives to promote regional mobility. Keystone adds, “Their location also offers easy access for Asia’s growing middle-class population seeking quality international education closer to home.”

In a related development, Keystone is also reporting strong growth in interest for destinations in the Middle East, and especially in the United Arab Emirates. Overall search volumes for the region were up 90% between March and June 2025, with the UAE accounting for about two-thirds of that surge. Of particular note to recruiters the world over, Indian students are the leading source of that Middle East-focused search traffic as well.

For additional background, please see:

• “New analysis forecasts international student mobility through 2030“
• “Global survey underscores demand shift from ‘Big Four’ to ‘Big Ten’“
• “Student mobility in MENA boosted by foreign partnerships and branch campuses“
• “Beyond the Big Four: How demand for study abroad is shifting to destinations in Asia and Europe“
• “Closer to home: Intra-regional mobility in Asia“

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Speaking at the șÚÁÏčÙÍű Middle East Scholarship and Partnership Summit in Muscat this week, Oman’s Minister of Higher Education, Research, and Innovation HE Prof Rahma bint Ibrahim Al Mahrooqi welcomed delegates from around the Gulf region and abroad, saying: “It is without a doubt that your participation and informative presentations will greatly contribute to the success of this knowledge dialogue as we expand the horizon of shared knowledge and best practices in the fields of student and academic exchange.”

Dr Al Mahrooqi added that the summit was “supporting the country’s transformation to a knowledge-based economy, and the realisation of many other objectives of Oman’s . In addition, the Ministry is working on twinning Oman’s higher education institutions with the high-ranked international universities like those attending and participating in this summit today.”

The Minister went on to explain that her officials are increasingly focused on opportunities in postgraduate study and research in areas identified as top priorities in Oman’s Vision 2040 strategy. These include energy, environmental science, logistics, fisheries, agriculture, and a range of technology fields. “Hence,” she added, “this ministry has focused more on sponsoring students in specialisations related to these fields, as well as specialisations that thrived as a result of the fourth industrial revolution, like artificial intelligence, the Internet of things, data management, quantum computing, and cybersecurity.”

Omani officials indicated separately that there are now more than 5,000 foreign students enrolled in the country, and that the Sultanate is actively working to link policy development around international students to the internationalisation efforts of Omani universities and the government’s larger goals to internationalise its higher education system.

Dubai plans to double international student numbers

Meanwhile, Dubai is setting the pace in the region in the race to draw more international students. For example, Dubai – one of seven emirates in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) – announced an in November 2024 that includes a goal of increasing international students in its higher education system by 50% by 2033. Other related goals are to see:

• Educational tourism ramp up to 10 times the current level;
• Dubai ranked in the Top 10 Student Cities ();
• Three Dubai universities rank in the Top 100 QS university rankings.

Recently, growth in international student numbers has been very rapid: the number of international students in Dubai (including students coming to Dubai for the purpose of study and first- or second-generation foreign residents in the UAE) has increased by 25% since the 2022/23 academic year.

The following screenshot, shared by Dubai’s Knowledge and Human Development Authority (KDHA), shows some of the latest developments in Dubai’s educational expansion.

Much of this new activity is happening in the economic “freezones” of Dubai’s Knowledge Village (DKV) and Dubai International Academic City (DIAC). These zones are owned by a for-profit branch of the Dubai government (TECOM Group). TECOM provides “ready-to-lease buildings and other services that allow institutions to quickly start operations.”

More branch campuses in the works

A spokesperson from KDHA told delegates at a conference hosted by Middlesex University Dubai in January 2025 that the expectation is for international enrolments to double by 2040, and that this will require even more branch campus expansion beyond the roughly 30 already in operation. Up to 15 additional branch campuses are anticipated to meet demand.

Already, there are close to 60 “international” campuses in Dubai, most of which are branch campuses in designated zones. The screenshot below shows the top home country origins of campuses in the emirate, and as you can see, Dubai welcomes both Western and non-Western partners. At least a third of branch campuses are from India, Lebanon, Russia, Pakistan, and Iran, and these campuses enrol a higher share of students from the local expatriate community than Western ones.

Almost 9 in 10 residents in the UAE have roots in other countries and can be first-generation, second-generation, or third-generation expatriates. They do not have citizenship but do have many other rights as residents in the UAE. The many countries represented by the expat community is part of the reason for the diversity of education options in the UAE and for the large number of branch campuses from all over the world.

After the UK, India has the most branch campuses in Dubai. Indians make up almost 40% of the total population of the UAE and number about 3.5 million across the seven emirates.

Indians represent the largest sending country

Across the UAE, international enrolments stand at about 220,000 – including (1) those coming from other countries specifically to study and (2) expatriates that are already living and working in the Emirates.

Of those coming from other countries to Dubai for studies, most are from India (43%), Russia (5%), Pakistan (5%), and Saudi Arabia (3%). More than half of them study business (55%), with engineering and IT next (11% and 9%, respectively). Half are in undergraduate programmes (51%), and 39% are at the master’s level.

What students say about Dubai

Dubai is increasingly developing a reputation for being an exciting student city – and for unique reasons. Jill Ahrens, for her 2024 research project, “,” interviewed international students in Dubai and noted:

“Students, who lived in another Arab or Muslim-majority country prior to coming to Dubai, commented upon the lifestyle in the city, which permits its residents to follow moderate Muslim principles, while at the same time offering ample opportunities for entertainment. In this sense, Dubai is exceptional amongst the other GCC countries and even the other UAE emirates…Dubai occupies a curious ‘in-between’ space, located west of the ‘East’ and east of the ‘West’.”

One postgraduate student at a British branch campus, said:

“It was more comfortable for me to come here rather than shifting all the way to Canada and getting used to the whole new environment. So I think it was in my comfortable zone, so I agreed to it. Because usually things work out in the same way here or Saudi Arabia or take any country in the GCC, they all have the same rules and regulations that they follow, so I think that was the reason why I came to Dubai.”

Saudi Arabia is trailing Dubai in international student growth

In 2016, Saudi Arabia sent over 100,000 students abroad for studies, mostly to the West. Many students were funded by the massive King Abdullah Scholarship Program (KASP), which has since been replaced by smaller, more targeted scholarships. The winding down of KASP contributed to a significant decline in outbound student mobility from Saudi Arabia, and in 2022, only around 50,000 Saudis were studying abroad.

As outbound declined, however, the Saudi government set its sights on becoming a regional education hub and top tourism destination, goals that support its need to diversify the economy beyond oil and gas and that are articulated in its project.

Inbound student numbers grew to over 74,000 international students in 2017, but this has since fallen to just over 64,000, according to UNESCO data (2022). There was a nearly 17% decline between 2017–21, but a slight uptick in 2022. Two elements in the story of the decrease in international student numbers is:

• The UAE moving more quickly than Saudi Arabia to welcome branch campuses, and Dubai, in particular, dramatically increasing its attractiveness and ability to host international students in the span of a couple of years;
• Increased demand from Saudi students to remain at home for higher education, leading to capacity issues.

Branch campus activity is strengthening in Saudi Arabia, however, and it dovetails with an increasing emphasis on private sector funding and institutions in higher education provision in the Kingdom. The government wants the private sector to meet (1) burgeoning local demand for education (900,000 additional places need to be created by 2030, a 42% increase over the 2 million currently provided mostly by the state), and (2) regional demand for quality education.

University World News reported in September 2024 that:

“The Saudi Arabian government has awarded foreign investor licences to five international public and private universities, opening the way for them to set up branch campuses in the kingdom offering masters and bachelor programmes in priority areas such as healthcare, engineering, and business.”

The licences are for the following universities, though University World News noted that details and final approvals are pending/opaque in some cases:

• Arizona State University (US)
• University of Wollongong (Australia)
• University of Stratheclyde (Scotland)
• The Royal College of Surgeons in Ireland
• IE University (Spain)

Increased investment in attracting investment and in international student recruitment

Oher signals of Saudi Arabia’s goal to compete more vigorously as an education hub in the region include:

• The platform, which includes an invitation for foreign companies to help the Kingdom reach “human capital and innovation goals.”
• The platform, where international undergraduate and graduate students can apply for scholarships.
• Streamlined visa processing;
• More including “joint research initiatives, student and faculty exchange programs, the development of new academic programs, and industry-academia partnerships.”

The new push for private sector involvement may see Saudi Arabia join UAE, Egypt, and Oman in a much greater push to attract international students.

Egyptian universities hosted 26,000 international students in the academic year 2023/24 – a 117% increase over 2019/20, according to Minister of Higher Education Ayman Ashour. Growth markets include Syria, Saudi Arabia, Yemen, Oman, India, and Nigeria, and new priority countries are China, Malaysia, Iraq, Qatar, and Bahrain.

Egypt’s new Administrative Capital features branch campuses and dual degree partnerships including foreign institutions such as:

• The University of Prince Edward Island (Canada)
• Toronto Metropolitan University (Canada);
• Coventry University (UK);
• University of Hertfordshire (UK);
• University of London
• British University of Central Lancashire
• University of Exeter (UK)
• Nova University Lisbon (Portugal)

Egypt also has plans to establish Egyptian branch campuses across Africa and Asia.

For additional background, please see:

• “Inbound and outbound student trends for South Africa, Egypt, and Morocco”
• “Recruiting in the Emirates”
• “Updated Saudi scholarship programme will send 70,000 students abroad by 2030”

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• Access to undergraduate education in Iran has expanded massively over the past decade, but graduates have few opportunities for further studies in the country;
• Youth unemployment is a real problem.

Millions of Iranians with undergraduate degrees cannot find employment. So many Iranian youth have degrees from Iranian higher education institutions that the degrees aren’t providing them a competitive advantage to leverage with employers. Studying abroad for an additional degree – a master’s, a second master’s, or a PhD especially – is a better proposition for most than remaining in the country to find a job.

Public protests decrying the punishment of women who do not adhere to the Iranian Islamic clergy’s strict dress requirements have spiralled into a generalised demonstration of anger at the way the country is being run. In 2023, demand may be higher than ever in Iran for study abroad, but there are challenges to recruiting in this iron-clad theocratic regime, not the least because the government is clamping down so tightly on social media and websites in general.

Working with trusted agents and building relationships with key Iranian officials and school contacts is crucial. The Iranian government has been aware of a “brain drain” problem for years, and despite tensions with the West, is attempting to address the issue by striking partnerships with international institutions in the delivery of doctoral degrees. In these scenarios, studies are balanced between Iranian and foreign universities. WENR has noted, “Schools who can establish these sorts of links may find it easier to gain access to the market.”

Fast facts

Geography: Iran is located on the Persian Gulf and Strait of Hormuz and is a strategic geographical meeting point joining Central Asia, South Asia, and the Middle East. It is bordered by Pakistan, Afghanistan, and Turkmenistan (east), Iraq (west), and Turkey, Armenia, Azerbaijan, and the Azerbaijan-Nakhichevan exclave (north).

Official language: Persian (Farsi). Turkish, or Turkish dialects are also spoken by about 18% of the population, and many Iranians are fluent in English and French.

Language of instruction: In addition to Farsi, students learn Arabic as the language of the Koran in grades 7-12, as well as one foreign language (usually English or French).

Governing bodies for education: At the secondary level, the overseeing body is the Ministry of Education. For non-medical higher education, it is the Ministry of Science, Research, and Technology. For medical institutions, universities, and teaching hospitals, it is the Ministry of Health, Treatment, and Medical Education.

Religion: Islam. The government of Iran regards all Iranians as Shi’a Muslims and declares Iran to be officially Shi’ite.

Main student cities: Ahvaz, Tehran, Isfahan, Mashhad, Tabriz, Arak.

Population: 86.8 million. By 2060 the number of Iranian citizens is expected to peak at 105 million. Currently, more than 60% of the population is under 30 years old. In 2021, 27% of 15-24-year-olds were unemployed in Iran.

Economy: Iran ranks second in the world for natural gas reserves and fourth for oil reserves, but the World Bank considers it “relatively diversified” for an oil exporting country. However, one of the country’s key sectors – agriculture – has been underperforming because of the worsening effects of climate change (high temperatures and drought).

The mass public protests sparked by the death in detention of Mahsa Amini led to the Iranian currency – the rial – falling to its lowest level ever against the US dollar in December 2022. The protests also reflect widespread anger at the government (which is deeply influenced by its Islamic clergy) for skyrocketing prices of consumer items – especially food and medicine – and inflation. reports that people have recently been trading personal items online for food:

“‘My shirt for a few kilograms of rice,’” read one personal ad, as people who were considered middle class just four years ago, now cannot afford the most basic food items.'”

The economic chaos suggests that many Iranian families will be more price-sensitive than usual in 2023 when considering study abroad. Iranian students in Italy are reportedly having trouble paying tuition and are buying euros on the black market.

Students have been very active in the protests – a development that experts tell contrasts with “a decade of a politically dormant student movement in Iran.” Tehran University and Sharif University have been major sites of demonstrations.

Iranian students abroad who have supported the protests are concerned about having to return to Iran. One told Italy’s that:

“The Iranian regime’s choices affect many of our lives. To give an example: if Iranian boys do not receive the scholarship and are forced to return to Iran, they are forced to join the army because they left the country with an educational exemption. Also people who participated in anti-regime demonstrations face major political problems if they return to Iran, risking even prison or worse. For this we expect the Italian government and the international community to support us in the same way it has supported the Ukrainian and Afghan students in the past years, because, at the moment, we Iranian students have not received any support and we continue to be under pressure both of the Iranian government and of the laws that are here.”

Outbound mobility

Iran is a major sender of students to destinations including the US, Canada, the UK, Germany, Italy, Turkey, and Malaysia. The Iranian government says that in 2022, more than 95,000 Iranians studied abroad. Despite sending fewer students since former President Trump abandoned the 2015 nuclear deal, Iran is still the 15th largest source market for American higher education institutions (9,295 students in 2021/22). It is a top 10 sender for Canada (16,900 students in 2021, up 21% year-over-year), Turkey (12,000 in 2022), Germany (10,560 in 2022), and Italy (4,580 in 2019).

Iran also has aspirations to attract more inbound students to its universities. In the summer of 2022, Mohammad Javad Salmanpour, the deputy head of the Organization for Student Affairs, stated, “Iran has the ability and capacity to have more than 250,000 foreign students by 2026.”

Push factors

±ő°ùČčČÔ’s reports that, “In recent years, the unemployment rate for new graduates in Iran has topped 50%.”

The market is saturated with degree-holding students, many of whom will have credentials from subpar private colleges. WENR reports:

“As economists Djavad Salehi-Isfahani and Daniel Egel have noted, ±ő°ùČčČÔ’s education system more ‘resembles 
 a giant diploma mill than a dynamic sector, training workers in skills needed by the global economy. 
 [P]roper teaching of English and computer skills is an extra-curricular activity for most students and available only to those whose parents can afford to pay for evening and summer courses in private institutions.’”

As they struggle to figure out ways to parlay their education into meaningful jobs in Iran, young Iranians are aware that there is much more opportunity elsewhere. MigrationPolicy.org reports:

“Iranians abroad tend to be well educated and earn high incomes. Nearly 60 percent of Iranian immigrants in the United States had at least a bachelor’s degree as of 2019, with more than 30 percent holding a graduate or professional degree. Iranian immigrants’ median household income was nearly $79,000 in 2019, significantly more than U.S.-born residents ($66,000) and immigrants overall (nearly $64,000). Likewise, more than 47 percent of Iranian asylum seekers living in Germany in 2018 had a university degree, the German Federal Office for Migration and Refugees said in a recent report.”

Challenges and opportunities

Because of the protests, the Iranian government has increased its censorship of expression and foreign content and the press even more than it already did 
 and that is saying a lot. In July 2022, according to the 20th World Press Freedom Index by Reporters Without Borders (RSF), Iran was ranked lower than all countries other than Eritrea and North Korea.

The list of banned websites and apps is now longer than ever, and Iranians are even having trouble accessing international websites with sections translated into Farsi.

Iranians are currently not permitted to access:

• Facebook
• Twitter
• TikTok
• Discord
• Instagram (a recent ban)
• WhatsApp (also a recent ban)

The banning of Instagram and WhatsApp is particularly troublesome given Iranian students’ fondness for these apps. The state-run Iranian Students Polling Agency (ISPA) conducted a survey in 2021 that found that 74% of Iranians aged 18+ use social media, with WhatsApp (64%), Instagram (45%), and Telegram (36%) the most popular. Iranian social platforms are far less popular, with only 5% reporting use of these platforms.

Despite the government’s increasing censorship of the Internet and apps, it is still important to develop customised web content for Iranian students. Iran International reports that “Nearly every Iranian with a smartphone has installed anti-filtering software that allows access to filtered applications and websites.” Those Iranian students who are determined to study abroad will be doing their best to find a way to check out foreign institutions’ websites.

Still, the highly controlled digital environment in Iran means that engaging with trusted agents is an absolute must – agents can help with building relationships with key partners in Iran, from government officials to good schools and universities. Two important things to note:

1. To be eligible to recruit Iranian students, a foreign college or university must be accredited by the Ministry of Science, Research, and Technology.
2. Agencies can recruit students for a maximum of 3 countries and are regulated by the Iranian Society of Student Recruitment Initiatives (SSRI).

Girls and women have as much access to secondary and tertiary education in Iran as men do, and the Iranian government reports that women make up more than 60% of the student population in the country’s universities.

Key dates

±ő°ùČčČÔ’s secondary school and university calendar runs from September to June, with the first semester running September-January and the second semester taking place from February–June. Secondary school students can only gain entrance to teritary studies by passing the national university entrance exam, the “Konkur.”

Students begin exploring study abroad options two years prior to their intended start date, according to Intead, and therefore campaigns and other efforts to attract them should begin at this time. Outreach should gear up when students begin applying to schools – from September to December prior to their start date.

Where the students are

At least 50% of university students are enrolled in the mega-institutions Islamic Azad University (a private institution with 400 campuses across the country enrolling close to 2 million students) and Payam Nur University (providing distance education to over 800,000 students).

In addition, more than 50 public universities and institutes are overseen by the Ministry of Science, Research and Technology, and there are more than 300 private institutions. A list of universities .

Another very useful link is the – which uses the following criteria:

• The university must be chartered, licensed or accredited by the appropriate Iranian higher education-related organisation;
• It must offer at least four-year undergraduate degrees (bachelor degrees) or postgraduate degrees (master or doctoral degrees);
• It must deliver courses predominantly in a traditional, face-to-face, non-distance education format.

In terms of degree equivalency, the Iranian government provides the following details:

• Kardani: 2-year programme equivalent to the associate degree;
• Karshenasi: 4-year programme equivalent to the bachelor’s degree;
• Karshenasi Arshad: 2-year programme beyond the Karshenasi equivalent to the master’s degree;
• Doctora: 3-year programme equivalent to the PhD degree;
• Specialised Doctorates: Degrees in dentistry, medicine, pharmacy, veterinary medicine, etc.

More detailed information on these programmes .

As for grading, the government explains:

“In Iran, the grading system is based on a 0-20 scale. At the elementary, secondary, and undergraduate levels, an average grade of 10 is a minimum required passing grade. The minimum average grade at the graduate level is 12, and in doctoral programs, the cut-off score stands at 14.”

At the secondary level, students considering study abroad will be studying at the “upper secondary” level (Grades 10-12) and will be aged 15–17/18. They will have chosen either the “theoretical (academic) branch” which prepares students for university, and includes focuses in mathematics/physics, biology/experimental sciences, and humanities, or the “vocational branch” (which the government says “prepares students to go into the business market as semi-skilled and skilled workers”).

The literacy rate for Iranians aged 15 and up is 86%.

A final note

Recruiting in Iran is more complicated than in many other countries, especially in the current context of widespread protests and a regime struggling to control them. A careful approach is necessary, especially given that government approval is required for foreign institutions to recruit in the country. With high demand among Iranian students for study abroad, however, many institutions are betting that the extra time and consideration needed to enter this market are well worth it.

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The UAE government is committed to diversifying the country’s revenues beyond oil, and it wants to draw a more direct line between the education that Emirati students receive and the skills the economy requires (especially for the country’s rapidly expanding tourism infrastructure). There is substantial funding allocated to study abroad scholarships for a wide range of programmes and types of institution (the new , aka RizeUp, is a perfect example).

Today, we’ll explore the UAE’s economic goals, education system, and scholarships to provide context for educators intent on recruiting in this market.

Geography: UAE is in Southwest Asia and is a federation of seven emirates (states) along the eastern coast of the Arabian Peninsula. Neighbouring countries are Oman and Saudi Arabia. The largest emirate is Abu Dhabi, which takes up about three-quarters of the UAE’s total land mass. Dubai is also a major centre and education hub. The other emirates are Sharjah, Ajman, Umm al-Quwain, Ras al-Khaimah, and Fujairah. In total, UAE is a bit smaller than Portugal.

Official language: Arabic. The high number of immigrants in the country also means that a number of other languages are spoken among pockets of the population, including English, Hindi, Farsi, Urdu, and Malayalam.

Language of instruction: Arabic in public schools. Students learn English as a second language and sometimes English is used for technical/scientific subjects.

Religion: Islam, though other religions are also practised by different expat groups.

Main cities: Abu Dhabi, Dubai, Sharjah, and Ajman.

Population: 10.2 million, of which 8.9 million are expats, including Indians, Pakistanis, Bangladeshis, Filipinos, Iranians, and Egyptians. There are significantly more men than women in UAE: men represent 69% of the population while women make up 31%. The most populous cities are Dubai, Sharjah, and Abu Dhabi. The demographic aged 15–24 makes up 12.2% of the population. Population growth is expected to peak in 2033 at 10.7 million people. The youth unemployment rate is much lower in UAE than in other MENA countries – generally below 10%.

Economy: UAE’s economy grew by 7.6% in 2022, higher than expected. The Central Bank of UAE attributes the higher growth to stronger than anticipated performance of sectors including tourism and hospitality, real estate, transportation, and manufacturing as well as the resumption of major events drawing business people from around the globe. UAE is known for being a very open economy that attracts a wide range of foreign businesses and investment. Like other MENA countries, UAE is attempting to diversify beyond its oil businesses and tourism is a priority sector: the target is for Dubai to be the “world’s most visited destination.” In the first ten months of 2022, Dubai welcomed 11.4 million international visitors, a 134% increase over the same period the previous year.

One example of just how far the UAE government intends to go in terms of becoming the top choice for the world’s tourists is what is now on offer in the Ras Al Khaimah emirate. Raki Phillips, CEO, Ras Al Khaimah Tourism Development Authority, explained to :

“From cultural escapes to eco-tourism and adrenaline-fuelled adventures to beach retreats, Ras Al Khaimah appeals to a wide range of interests. [Its] attractions include the world’s first Bear Grylls Explorers Camp, the world’s first branded accommodation, as well as the highest restaurant in the UAE – 1484 by Puro. The emirate is also popular for its attractions such as the Jebel Jais Flight: The World’s Longest Zipline and Jais Sky Tour with many more attractions to open in 2022, such as Jais Sledder, the region’s longest toboggan ride that runs a length of 1,840 meters.”

The if you’re interested in the massive expansion of UAE’s tourism industry – it is fascinating.

Primary/secondary education: Primary and high school students attend either public or private schools. In the public school system (where students do not have to pay tuition), boys and girls are separated, and the system is governed by the Ministry of Education (MoE). Because instruction is in Arabic in public schools, and because there are so many expat families in UAE, private schools are a popular option for those who can afford them. The runs from September to March/ April, with two holiday breaks in the academic year.

In Abu Dhabi and Dubai, the Abu Dhabi (ADEK) and (KHDA), respectively, oversee private schools rather than the Ministry of Education – private schools are not under direct government supervision.

In Abu Dhabi, 15 different curriculums are offered to students: American, British, Canadian, French, Bangladeshi, German, International Bac (IB), Indian, Iranian, Italian, Japanese, MoE (Ministry of Education), Pakistani, Filipino, and Sabis. A list of Abu Dhabi schools, as well as detailed information, can be .

Meanwhile in Dubai, there are . These are some of the top private primary/secondary international schools offering various international curriculums:

• Repton School
• King’s School, Al Barsha
• King’s School, Dubai
• Horizon English School Dubai
• Dubai College
• Dubai English Speaking School
• Jumeirah English Speaking School
• Dubai British School
• GEMS Wellington International School
• GEMS Dubai Academy

Many of these schools offer rolling admission to allow expat families and families who are in UAE for short periods of time some flexibility in enrolling their children. Students at various schools graduate at different times (e.g., secondary school may end in Grade 10 but in many international schools, two more years are necessary to graduate as per their international curriculum).

Tertiary education: UAE ranks in the world’s top 30 education systems both for primary and higher education, making it a fruitful recruiting ground for foreign educators offering undergraduate, graduate, and post-graduate programmes.

UAE is also a major host of branch campuses and transnational education in general. For example, UAE is the now the top country for .

The Dubai emirate hosts the University of Dubai as well as 26 international branch campuses of universities from 12 different countries, including the UK, US, Australia, Canada. A list of those universities can be found .

The CAA is the accreditation agency of the UAE and provides on top tertiary institutions in the country.

A list of higher education institutions in Abu Dhabi can be found . For STEM programmes, the Khalifa University of Science and Technology (KU) is a top 200 QS world university with an intensive research focus on applied science and engineering.

UniversityGuru.com provides this handy infographic which universities fare the best in major subject areas according to rankings such as the Shanghai, THE, and QS.

There are also high-quality in UAE. (CERT) is the most notable of these but the following are also worth exploring:

• National Institute for Vocational Education (NIVE)
• ADNOC Technical Institute (ATI)
• Petroleum Institute (PI)
• Mohammed bin Rashid School of Government
• Emirates Aviation University
• Emirates Academy of Hospitality Management
• Abu Dhabi Vocational Education and Training Institute (ADVETI)

Study abroad

The high volume of students enrolled at international schools in UAE creates a major market opportunity for foreign universities and colleges. The reports: “By some accounts, more than 90% of students at international schools intend to study overseas after graduation, so this trend will most likely accelerate tertiary mobility.”

Top destinations for Emirati students are the UK (6,015 in 2019/20), India (2,307 in 2019), and the US (1,737 in 2020/21, with most studying at the undergraduate level).

Canada and European countries are also becoming more popular for students looking for more affordable programmes than they might find in the US or UK. Vandana Mahajan, the founder of educational agency Futures Abroad, explained to UAE’s that:

“Last year we sent over 200 students to Canada from the UAE and I’m seeing a large increase from last year to this year. The recruitment season is ongoing, but we anticipate to send more than 500 students to Canada this year. The Co-op work programme is very popular and originated from Canadian universities and colleges, which means students do alternate semesters of study and work.”

The UK should see its number rise next year, as close to 3,000 UAE students applied to UK universities in 2022.

Programmes for which there will be increasing demand over the next few years will be associated with UAE’s target of being the world’s top tourist destination. These include:

• Hospitality and tourism (including eco-tourism and sports tourism)
• Event management
• Marketing and business administration
• Food-related fields
• Construction and engineering
• Aviation
• Information technology
• Digital technologies and social media marketing
• Human resource management
• And

Scholarships

Canada and the US can anticipate hosting more UAE students given the new scholarship programme aimed at sending 6,000 students to North America by 2028. The Khotwa (RizeUp) scholarship programme, with funding of US$520 million, pays for students’ entire degree programmes, including homestay accommodation and up to a year of English-language study.

Most MENA scholarships tend to send students to top-ranked universities, but the Khowta programme is less exclusive. It relies on a 2+2 model, where students begin their academic studies at a designated community college in either Canada or the US, then transfer to an affiliated university to complete their degrees. The initial set of participating colleges were reportedly selected on the basis that they (a) operate their own English-language programmes, (b) are partnered with degree-granting universities, and (c) offer homestay accommodation for visiting students.

To be eligible for a Khotwa scholarship, Emirati students must have an average of 65% or above in their final year of secondary studies, and an IELTS score of 3.0 or better. The first 170 Khotwa-funded students will begin their studies in the US and Canada in January 2023.

There are a number of other UAE scholarships to fund Emirati students abroad, including those offered by the , the Ministry of Presidential Affairs, the Department of Education and Knowledge, and the Ministry of Finance (MoF).

The Mohammed Bin Rashid Space Centre (MBRSC) offers scholarships to top Emirati students pursuing engineering or science, while is for students pursuing telecommunications and information technology (e.g., computer engineering, electronic engineering and computer science). More government-funded scholarships can be found .

Many universities in the UAE offer scholarships for students as well through joint agreements between the UAE government and other countries. Information about these is best obtained by contacting staff at individual institutions.

Inbound students: UAE, especially Dubai, is becoming an education hub specialising in Western-modelled instruction as well as an exporter of students to other countries. In fact, UAE is the top host of Indian students. As many as 219,000 Indian students were enrolled in UAE higher education institutions as of July 2021, making it even more popular than Canada, US, the UK, and other countries. Over the past couple of years, Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, UAE’s Vice-President and Prime Minister, has for students as well as a permission for students to bring their relatives with them to the country as added incentives for foreign students to choose UAE.

Advice from the experts: Please enjoy this excellent hosted recently by șÚÁÏčÙÍű. On the panel were guests with immense experience in Middle Eastern markets:

• Marie-Claude Svaldi, VP of government relations and recruitment EMEA, ELS Education Services
• Craig Hastings, Division Adviser, Abu Dhabi Scholarships, Department of Education and Knowledge (ADEK)
• Sarah Crowther, President, Collective Study

For additional background, please see:

• “UAE sets new tone for scholarship programmes in the Persian Gulf”
• “Scholarships, modernisation, and student mobility: Recruiting in Saudi Arabia now”

The post Recruiting in the Emirates: Big goals, world-class education, and new scholarships appeared first on șÚÁÏčÙÍű Monitor - Market intelligence for international student recruitment.

Main cities: Riyadh, Makkah, Madinah, Jeddah, and Dhahran. The Riyadh, Makkah, Madinah, and Eastern provinces hold almost three-quarters of the Kingdom’s student population.

Official language: Arabic. English is widely spoken as well.

Population: 36.2 million, of whom 37% are foreign-born. Population growth is predicted to decrease to 1% by 2030, and will start declining by 2060. About one-sixth of the population is aged 15–24. In mid-2022, almost 18% of Saudi youth were unemployed, and a significant proportion of those who could not find jobs were degree-holders. Increasing youth employment is a top priority for the Saudi government.

Language of instruction: Arabic in Saudi public schools – but English is becoming much more common in universities, especially for STEM subjects. Some English is taught in high school, but students do not generally graduate with high levels of English proficiency. Most Saudi universities have a preparatory year programme (PYP) to transition students from Arabic studies to English-language studies. Students must pass the PYP to be admitted to undergraduate programmes. There is a significant market opportunity for language schools to help Saudi students prepare for degree programmes in foreign destinations.

Religion: Islam. The government runs the country according to Wahhabism (a strict and literal Sunni interpretation of the Quran), and Saudis’ lives are greatly influenced by the rules of this version of Islam.

There has been some relaxation in the society in recent years, as summarised by :

“The kingdom’s religious police have been de-fanged, cinemas have reopened, foreign tourists have been welcomed, and Saudi Arabia has staged a film festival, operas, Formula One Grand Prix, heavyweight boxing, professional wrestling and a huge rave festival.”

Economy: In 2016, Saudi Arabia launched its strategy, the goals of which include: diversifying the economy beyond oil industries, empowering women and youth, harnessing the power of digital technologies, and advancing the country’s tourism and healthcare sectors. According to the Strategy:

“Saudi Arabia is using its investment power to create a more diverse and sustainable economy 
 and its strategic location to build its role as an integral driver of international trade and to connect three continents: Africa, Asia and Europe.”

A crucial point for educators: It would be unwise to attempt to recruit in Saudi Arabia without fully researching Vision 2030 – what its goals are, impressive progress to date, which sectors are priorities – and how these priorities are creating demand for specific education programmes and degrees. Student mobility from Saudi Arabia over the next few years will be largely determined by the planning and government bodies attached to Vision 2030.

According to the IMF, Saudi Arabia is likely to be one of the world’s fastest-growing economies this year “as sweeping pro-business reforms and a sharp rise in oil prices and production power recovery from a pandemic-induced recession in 2020.” In Q3 2022, Saudi Arabia’s GDP grew 8.8% year-on-year.

Millions of foreign workers – who have always dominated private sector employment – have left the country over the past few years amid a government-led “Saudization” drive that has created barriers for many foreigners to work in the country. For example, businesses in the Kingdom must pay an “expat fee” of over USD$200 a month per foreign employee, foreigners must pay fees for dependents, and the sectors foreigners can work in are now limited.

Not coincidentally, labour force participation by Saudis is increasing, particularly among women in the private sector. notes, “Saudi Arabia’s Vision 2030 reform program has an explicit objective to increase the female labor force participation rate to over 30%. For now, it looks like this objective was achieved 10 years early.”

While Saudi women’s rights remain more restricted than in many parts of the world, they have expanded under the rule of Prince Mohammed bin Salman. Saudi women now have as much access to education as their male counterparts and they are eager to pursue university studies. There are more female than male undergraduates, for example, and women make up more than half of university students in the Kingdom. Top female Saudi students are eligible for the Kingdom’s study abroad scholarships and encouraged to apply.

The number of Saudi households in high-income brackets is 3.4 million, the highest in the region. UAE follows next with 1.5 million households in that bracket.

Education system

The number of students aged 6–24 in primary, intermediate, and tertiary schools is projected to reach 11.2 million by 2025, up from 10 million in 2018. This is the largest student population in Gulf region (GCC), and most of it is concentrated at the secondary level.

Almost 9 in 10 Saudi students attend one of over 26,000 public schools in the Kingdom. The rest attend one of roughly 4,500 private schools. Enrolment in private schools is increasing faster than in public schools and 15% all K-12 enrolments in KSA are now in private schools. A Vision 2030 goal is to see this share grow to 25% by 2030.

reports that “63% of private schools adopt the Saudi curriculum, 33% of schools adopt the American curriculum, and 17% follow the British curriculum.” In addition, given KSA’s large expat population, there are many international schools that serve families from all over the world – from Pakistan and India to Japan and the Philippines to France and Germany.

Major players in KSA private education include:

• British International School of Jedda
• GEMS Education (which, in partnership with Saudi-government-funded Hassana Investment, acquired Saudi Arabia’s largest private school operator, Ma’arif, in 2019)
• International Schools Group (ISG)
• Kingdom Schools
• SABIS Education Services
• American International School
• Aata Educational Company

At the primary level, after kindergarten, students attend six years of primary school, and then undertake three years of intermediate school. For high school, students can choose an academic orientation or a vocational one. They sit for comprehensive exams twice a year that are supervised by the Ministry of Education.

Primary/secondary education is under transformation in the country. WENR reports that: “, implemented by the company Tatweer Educational Technologies (TETCO) on the behest of the Saudi government, is ushering in smart classrooms and digital education management systems across Saudi Arabia: ‘Textbooks are being swapped out for mobile devices that provide up-to-date content in real time. Printed exams are transitioning to online assessments.’”

Tertiary: About 2.1 million students were enrolled in Saudi universities in 2022. The Council of Higher Education oversees the entire university sector, while the Ministry of Higher Education (MHE) administers the system.

EY estimates that unmet demand for a place at university within KSA was 150,000 seats this year, setting up high demand for study abroad. Most Saudi students enrol in tuition-free undergraduate programmes in public tertiary institutions. There are about 50 public and private universities in KSA, as well as many community colleges, women’s colleges, and vocational schools.

predicts that the total demand for higher education among Saudis “will reach 2.8 million seats in 2030, compared to an estimated 1.97 million seats in 2022.”

Five public institutions are responsible for nearly half of all public university enrolments, and five private colleges account for nearly half of all enrolments in the private sector.

Universities in major cities deliver roughly 200 bachelor’s, master’s, and PhD programs in English. Please see the for a sense of the country’s top universities.

Colliers expects demand to rise among Saudi students for the following subjects and fields:

• Artificial Intelligence (AI)
• Robotic sciences
• Energy (e.g., Nuclear, Sustainable, Renewable, Solar)
• Health (including certificates and micro-credentials to boost the skillsets of medical professionals)
• Hospitality/Tourism
• Business studies to support investments in the SME sector

offers this helpful graphic detailing the enrolments pattern (in 2019) across the Saudi higher education system.

Study abroad

The number of Saudi Arabian students studying overseas has declined from a high point in 2016, at which time there were more than 100,000 students abroad. Along with lower outbound mobility in the pandemic, the decline stems from the winding down of the King Abdullah Scholarship Program (KASP). At its peak, KASP sent tens of thousands of students to the US and significant numbers to Canada, the United Kingdom, and other leading destinations.

The programme has now been replaced with smaller, more targeted scholarships for Saudi students. A focus on sending students to major English-language destinations in the KASP era has been replaced with a determination to place students in top universities in any region and to programmes aligned with the Vision 2030 agenda.

In 2019, there were roughly 70,000 Saudi students abroad. Western destinations’ share of Saudi students has been declining in recent years. The US remains the top enroller of Saudi students, but enrolments were just 18,206 in 2020/21, down 17% from the previous year. In 2018/19 the number was nearly 40,000, and that was still a decline from the over 60,000 Saudi students enrolled in US programmes in 2015/16.

A diplomatic spat between Canada and Saudi Arabia in 2018 led to the Saudi government abruptly cutting scholarship funding for its students in Canada and requiring many to immediately leave the country. Thousands of Saudi students left Canada and thousands more abandoned plans to begin studies in Canada. Canada had risen to be a top destination for Saudi students prior to that dispute, but there are now only around 1,500-2,000 Saudi students in Canada.

Australia has yet to recapture the Saudi market after opening its borders again in late-2021. There are (2022), down from 7,000 in 2019.

The UK, however, has held on to its Saudi enrolments. There were about 8,800 Saudis in UK universities in 2020/21, up slightly from the number the year before and similar to enrolments in 2016.

Outside of Western destinations, Malaysia is the most popular choice for Saudi students choosing to study abroad. About 2,000 Saudi students chose Malaysia according to 2019 UNESCO data.

Scholarships

Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques Scholarship Program

The foremost scholarship programme that replaces previous iterations of KASP is the , run by the Ministry of Education. Under this scheme, the Saudi government plans to send 70,000 students to 200 approved foreign institutions/programmes by 2030.

Eligible students are streamed into one of four paths under the new strategy – the Pioneers Path, the Research & Development Path, the Providers Path, and the Promising Path:

• The Pioneers Path is designed to send students to bachelor and master’s programmes in all fields at the world’s top 30 education institutions.
• The Providers Path is designed to send students into bachelor, master’s, and “training” programmes with a clear relationship with specific labour market needs. Target fields include information technology, natural sciences, mathematics and statistics engineering, manufacturing and construction, business management, and tourism.
• The Research & Development Path is oriented to producing scientists and is intended for PhD-level students. Target fields include cybersecurity, digital currencies, artificial intelligence, sustainability and environmental management, aviation and defense, nuclear energy, intelligent energy management systems, and smart and sustainable cities.
• The Promising Path streams students into bachelor, master’s, and “training” programmes oriented to specific fields including sports, digital economy, public administration, business administration, marketing, and institutional behaviour.

The Ministry of Education is now accepting applications for the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques Scholarship Program for the academic year 2023/2024 until 5 May 2023.

Important to know: Students who go to destinations such as the US, UK, Canada and Australia will not receive support for any English-language training required for their degree programmes, but students going to non-English-speaking destinations will receive support for language studies.

Other scholarships

There are many other government-funded scholarships in place with discrete goals, run by specific ministries such as the Ministry of Tourism, the Ministry of Culture, the Ministry of Defence, etc. New programmes are announced regularly and there are many opportunities for foreign universities and colleges that:

• Do their research (e.g., what Vision 2030 requires in terms of skills, which Saudi universities specialise in which programmes, and which government ministries are responsible for various sectors of the economy);
• Invest in creating a foundation of contacts and goodwill, beginning with the Saudi cultural bureau in their country and extending to meetings and arrangements with in-country representatives and agents who have an understanding of how the system works;
• Invest in in-person visits, regional events, and industry networking conferences;
• Are prepared to be patient and build up trust among Saudi decision-makers;
• Understand the sophistication of the scholarship environment in Saudi Arabia and of Vision 2030 in general;
• Are prepared to be flexible and very responsive to RFPs and other queries;
• Can make a clear case for how a particular programme is aligned with a scholarship’s goals;
• Can articulate their brand well and explain why it is relevant in the Saudi context;
• Take the time to understand Saudi culture in general.

Please enjoy this excellent hosted recently by șÚÁÏčÙÍű. On the panel were guests with immense experience in Middle Eastern markets:

• Marie-Claude Svaldi, VP of government relations and recruitment EMEA, ELS Education Services
• Craig Hastings, Division Adviser, Abu Dhabi Scholarships, Department of Education and Knowledge (ADEK)
• Sarah Crowther, President, Collective Study

For more information, please see:

• “Updated Saudi scholarship programme will send 70,000 students abroad by 2030”
• “The new shape of Saudi demand for study abroad”

The post Scholarships, modernisation, and student mobility: Recruiting in Saudi Arabia now appeared first on șÚÁÏčÙÍű Monitor - Market intelligence for international student recruitment.

was announced in September 2022 and will be administered by the Abu Dhabi Department of Education and Knowledge (ADEK). The AED1.9 billion (US$520 million) programme is targeted to students from a variety of academic and social backgrounds “to enable them to achieve their full potential and contribute to the growth of Abu Dhabi’s knowledge-based economy.”

Khotwa scholarships will provide full funding for participating Emirati students for their entire degree programmes, including homestay accommodation and up to a year of English language study.

The programme relies on a 2+2 model, through which students will begin their academic studies , and then transfer to an affiliated university to complete their degrees. The initial set of participating colleges were reportedly selected on the basis that they (a) operate their own English language programmes, (b) are partnered with degree-granting universities, and (c) offer homestay accommodations for visiting students.

In order to be eligible for a Khotwa scholarship, Emirati students must have an average of 65% or above in their final year of secondary studies, and an IELTS score of 3.0 or better. The first 170 Khotwa-funded students will begin their studies in the US and Canada in January 2023.

Where it fits

The programme stands in contrast to other scholarship initiatives in the region, some of which have sharpened their focus on top-scoring students and elite institutions in recent years. And as such it reflects a growing awareness among policy makers in the region that only a relatively small percentage of prospective students will be served by that focus on top-ranked institutions abroad.

Governments throughout the region, meanwhile, remain committed to as well as the and are working to align scholarship programmes with those larger societal goals, including improving gender equity, reducing societal inequalities, and targeting fields of study to priority areas of industry demand.

Commenting on the Khotwa launch, Her Excellency Sara Musallam, Minister of State for Early Education and Chairperson of ADEK, said:

“This landmark programme is a strategic investment by Abu Dhabi Government to continue nurturing future-ready Emirati bachelor’s degree holders. Khotwa (RizeUp) will empower students who have not benefitted from our previous scholarships to study at international colleges and universities and graduate as highly competent, effective and productive citizens capable to enrich our national employment pool and play an active role in driving forward our knowledge-based economy.”

“Building on the success of employment rates exceeding 90% among ADEK’s scholarship graduates, we recognise the potential in providing opportunities. Consequently, we have expanded the scholarship matrix to include specific academic specializations – selected in close cooperation with government, national, and private entities – that will further enhance our graduate scholars’ employability.”

For additional background, please see:

• “Updated Saudi scholarship programme will send 70,000 students abroad by 2030“

The post UAE sets a new tone for scholarship programmes in the Persian Gulf appeared first on șÚÁÏčÙÍű Monitor - Market intelligence for international student recruitment.

• The Pioneers Path is designed to send students to bachelors and masters programmes in all fields at the world’s top 30 education institutions.
• The Providers Path is designed to send students into bachelors, masters, and “training” programmes with a clear relationship with specific labour market needs.
• The Research & Development Path is oriented to producing scientists and is intended for PhD-level students.
• The Promising Path is meant to stream students into specific fields such as manufacturing tourism in bachelors, masters, and “training” programmes located in such countries as South Korea, Japan, and Germany.

The scholarship programme hinges on that take into account a continuum of planning for Saudi Arabia’s economic and societal goals (articulated in the macro-strategy, ). The first is “early planning for young students for their educational journey at global institutions and universities”; the second is a strategy to elevate the kingdom’s competitiveness both locally and globally” through study abroad; and the third is a commitment to supporting graduates after they return from study abroad to “improve their readiness to join the labor market locally and globally.”

Both male and female students are eligible for the scholarship programme and .

No funding for English studies

Students who go to destinations such as the US, UK, Canada and Australia will not receive support for any English-language training required for their degree programmes, but students going to non-English-speaking destinations will receive support for language studies.
 
This is an important detail given that the previous massive Saudi scholarship programme, the “King Abdullah Scholarship Program (KASP)” sent tens of thousands of Saudi students to programmes primarily in the US and other English destinations and included . The current scholarship programme underlines the increasing complexity of student mobility in the 2020s and the rise of non-Western destinations.
 
At the same time, the Saudi government began offering English-language instruction to first graders last year, in a bid to before the secondary and tertiary levels of education.
 
For additional background please see:

• “The new shape of Saudi demand for study abroad”

The post Updated Saudi scholarship programme will send 70,000 students abroad by 2030   appeared first on șÚÁÏčÙÍű Monitor - Market intelligence for international student recruitment.