Speaking at the 黑料官网 Middle East Scholarship and Partnership Summit in Muscat this week, Oman鈥檚 Minister of Higher Education, Research, and Innovation HE Prof Rahma bint Ibrahim Al Mahrooqi welcomed delegates from around the Gulf region and abroad, saying: 鈥淚t 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.鈥�

Dr Al Mahrooqi added that the summit was 鈥渟upporting the country’s transformation to a knowledge-based economy, and the realisation of many other objectives of Oman鈥檚 . 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.鈥�

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鈥檚 Vision 2040 strategy. These include energy, environmental science, logistics, fisheries, agriculture, and a range of technology fields. 鈥淗ence,鈥� she added, 鈥渢his 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.鈥�

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鈥檚 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 鈥� one of seven emirates in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) 鈥� 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鈥檚 Knowledge and Human Development Authority (KDHA), shows some of the latest developments in Dubai鈥檚 educational expansion.

Much of this new activity is happening in the economic 鈥渇reezones鈥� of Dubai鈥檚 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 鈥渞eady-to-lease buildings and other services that allow institutions to quickly start operations.鈥�

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 鈥渋nternational鈥� 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 鈥� 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鈥檚 level.

What students say about Dubai

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

鈥淪tudents, 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 鈥榠n-between鈥� space, located west of the 鈥楨ast鈥� and east of the 鈥榃est鈥�.鈥�

One postgraduate student at a British branch campus, said:

鈥淚t 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.鈥�

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鈥�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:

鈥淭he 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.鈥�

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鈥檚 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 鈥渉uman capital and innovation goals.鈥�
• The platform, where international undergraduate and graduate students can apply for scholarships.
• Streamlined visa processing;
• More including 鈥渏oint research initiatives, student and faculty exchange programs, the development of new academic programs, and industry-academia partnerships.鈥�

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 鈥� 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鈥檚 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:

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

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Main cities: Riyadh, Makkah, Madinah, Jeddah, and Dhahran. The Riyadh, Makkah, Madinah, and Eastern provinces hold almost three-quarters of the Kingdom鈥檚 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鈥�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 鈥� 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鈥� 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 :

鈥淭he 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.鈥�

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鈥檚 tourism and healthcare sectors. According to the Strategy:

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

A crucial point for educators: It would be unwise to attempt to recruit in Saudi Arabia without fully researching Vision 2030 鈥� what its goals are, impressive progress to date, which sectors are priorities 鈥� 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鈥檚 fastest-growing economies this year 鈥渁s sweeping pro-business reforms and a sharp rise in oil prices and production power recovery from a pandemic-induced recession in 2020.鈥� In Q3 2022, Saudi Arabia鈥檚 GDP grew 8.8% year-on-year.

Millions of foreign workers 鈥� who have always dominated private sector employment 鈥� have left the country over the past few years amid a government-led 鈥淪audization鈥� drive that has created barriers for many foreigners to work in the country. For example, businesses in the Kingdom must pay an 鈥渆xpat fee鈥� 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, 鈥淪audi Arabia鈥檚 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.鈥�

While Saudi women鈥檚 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鈥�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 鈥�63% of private schools adopt the Saudi curriculum, 33% of schools adopt the American curriculum, and 17% follow the British curriculum.鈥� In addition, given KSA鈥檚 large expat population, there are many international schools that serve families from all over the world 鈥� 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鈥檚 largest private school operator, Ma鈥檃rif, 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: 鈥�, 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: 鈥楾extbooks are being swapped out for mobile devices that provide up-to-date content in real time. Printed exams are transitioning to online assessments.’鈥�

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鈥檚 colleges, and vocational schools.

predicts that the total demand for higher education among Saudis 鈥渨ill 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鈥檚, master鈥檚, and PhD programs in English. Please see the for a sense of the country鈥檚 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鈥� 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 鈥� 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鈥檚 programmes in all fields at the world鈥檚 top 30 education institutions.
• The Providers Path is designed to send students into bachelor, master鈥檚, and 鈥渢raining鈥� 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鈥檚, and 鈥渢raining鈥� 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 黑料官网. 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:

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

The post Scholarships, modernisation, and student mobility: Recruiting in Saudi Arabia now appeared first on 黑料官网 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鈥檚 top 30 education institutions.
• The Providers Path is designed to send students into bachelors, masters, and 鈥渢raining鈥� 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 鈥渢raining鈥� 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鈥檚 economic and societal goals (articulated in the macro-strategy, ). The first is 鈥渆arly planning for young students for their educational journey at global institutions and universities鈥�; the second is a strategy to elevate the kingdom鈥檚 competitiveness both locally and globally鈥� through study abroad; and the third is a commitment to supporting graduates after they return from study abroad to 鈥渋mprove their readiness to join the labor market locally and globally.鈥�

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 鈥淜ing Abdullah Scholarship Program (KASP)鈥� 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:

• 鈥�The new shape of Saudi demand for study abroad鈥�

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The programme has now been replaced with smaller, more targeted scholarships for Saudi students, but the market continues to show its strength in the post-KASP era and appears poised as well for a strong recovery from the challenges of COVID-19.

In 2019, there were still roughly 70,000 Saudi students abroad, buoyed in part by some continuing scholarship support from government but also by a growing cohort of self-funded students.

“Saudi Arabia was always a sponsored market,” explains Ayman Abdelhafez, the managing director of Saudi agency Sindibad. “The government offered huge scholarships to students and created a great interest in study abroad. Now, even after the government has limited those scholarships, many students still want to go abroad for their degrees.”

That culture of study abroad is further encouraged by the country’s large and youthful population, and by income levels that can certainly support growing numbers of self-funded students abroad. Within a population of about 35 million, there are more than five million 15-to-24-year-olds, many of whom are preparing for higher education.

Multiple scholarships

Speaking at the hybrid 黑料官网 Dubai event this week, Mr Abdelhafez described how the KASP programme has given way to a number of smaller scholarships for Saudi students.

“The KASP programme was the dominant scholarship programme in the Gulf region, and indeed in the world. It was a very generous programme, allowing students to study in language programmes or any other foundation studies required in addition to their degrees.”

He added that in the late-2010s, the Saudi government started looking for a different direction for its scholarship programmes and in the process made a much stronger connection between the type of scholarship support students were getting and the careers they would pursue in Saudi Arabia after their studies.

This has led to a number of targeted scholarships in specific professional fields, including, for example, health sciences, and to a broader programme called . POE scholarship support is available to top Saudi students only, and to those who can demonstrate their readiness (via IELTS or TOEFL scores) to begin academic studies abroad without any further language or foundation study.

The top destinations for scholarship students remain the leading English-speaking destinations 鈥� notably the US, UK, Canada, and Australia 鈥� but student are also funded for studies elsewhere, including Europe in destinations such as France or Germany.

The importance of Ministry approval

This has been true in Saudi Arabia for some time, but institutions hoping to receive Saudi students must ensure that they, and their specific degree programmes, are on the list of approved study options for the Saudi Ministry of Education.

These lists are administered through the Saudi Arabian Cultural Mission, and the SACM is always the first stop for any institutions or schools who wish to be added to the approved list.

Getting on that approved list is a critical step in receiving both scholarship and self-funded students. “Self-funded students cannot study and get recognition for their degree unless the university is on the [approved] list,” notes Mr Abdelhafez. And the significance of this arises in turn from a broader pattern for Saudi students, in that the majority will complete their degree programmes abroad and then return to the Kingdom afterward.

A growing cohort

Going forward, it is that expanding pool of self-funded students that can be expected to drive outbound growth over the long-term. “We need to look at the market a different way,” says Mr Abdelhafez. “Let’s focus on self-funded students. This is the real market right now in Saudi Arabia, and also the most stable market. It’s not a market that gets changed by a [funding] decision from the government.”

Mansour Almudaifier, manager of the education agency Pro Student, expanded on that forecast in a separate session at 黑料官网 Dubai.

“We are expecting 2022 to be a return to business year. We have accepted to live with COVID-19, and expect it not to impact the travel industry as it did in 2020 as most of the population is fully vaccinated.”

He added, “Students are still keen to study abroad, and full of optimism for the opportunities we have on the table for them. We expect [outbound] numbers to be back to normal, if not more, within the next two years.”

For additional background, please see:

• “The new student recruitment landscape in Saudi Arabia“
• “Saudi Arabia鈥檚 expanding higher education capacity“
• “Adapting to the new realities of the Saudi Arabian market“

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Even with that declining trend, there were still nearly 40,000 Saudi students in the US in 2018/19, and Saudi Arabia remained the fourth-largest sender for US higher education that year. That resilient student base reflects that no country benefited more from the landmark King Abdullah Scholarship Programme (KASP) than the United States. Indeed, KASP sent tens of thousands of students to the US, and very significant numbers to Canada, the United Kingdom, and other countries as well.

The Saudi government began to wind down the KASP scholarship programme in 2016, and Saudi numbers in all major receiving countries began to drop off almost right away. But as those recent US numbers suggest, Saudi Arabia remains a very important source market, and a key recruiting ground for agents and educators in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region.

We explored the current landscape for recruitment in the Kingdom recently in conversation with Arwa Due-Gundersen. Ms Due-Gundersen is based in the UK and for the past two years has been a marketing manager, with a focus on recruitment for the UK and other EU destinations, with . The education agency has offices throughout the region, including in Riyadh, Jeddah, Dammam, Abu Dhabi, Muscat, and Kuwait City. Just this month, she also joined Middle East and North Africa recruitment team.

In our first interview segment below, Ms Due-Gundersen highlights the shift in the market 鈥渇rom mass to quality鈥�, and the emergence of a new wave of scholarships programmes in the Kingdom. These new programmes are most often managed by individual Saudi ministries, and typically require higher qualifications of eligible students than was the case under KASP.

As Ms Due-Gundersen explains, some of this scholarship activity is directly tied to Saudi Arabia鈥檚 enormous planned-city development, Neom. Neom will be built at an estimated cost of US$500 billion, with the first phases of development to be completed by 2025. Some of the new scholarship programmes on offer in Saudi Arabia now are targeting specific fields, such as tourism, which the labour market in the new city will especially require.

In our second interview segment, Ms Due-Gundersen looks ahead at the factors that will continue to shape Saudi demand for study abroad in the coming years. She notes in particular the strengthening ties between Saudi Arabia and China, which will soon lead to Chinese being taught in Saudi schools and, she expects, growing demand (and scholarship support) for Saudi students to study in China.

鈥淏usiness and engineering are always the top programmes that are in demand,鈥� she explains as our conversation continues below. 鈥淏ut there are now new sponsorship programmes. For example, from the Ministry of Health for health science programmes and they are accrediting more universities to help the students have a greater variety of options.鈥�

Those planning to establish or expand recruitment activities in the Kingdom should pay close attention to Ms Due-Gundersen鈥檚 tips for educators in the following segment.

In the final excerpt from our interview, Ms Due-Gundersen also highlights the two major segments in the Saudi market: Saudi nationals, many of whom will go abroad with scholarship support and the expat market, most of whom will self-fund their programmes abroad. The factors driving demand for study abroad, the means of funding, and even choice of destination all vary, she explains, 鈥渂y which client you are serving.鈥�

For additional background, please see:

• 鈥�Saudi Arabia鈥檚 expanding higher education capacity鈥�
• 鈥�Adapting to the new realities of the Saudi Arabian market鈥�
• 鈥�Using social media to reach students in the Middle East and North Africa鈥�
• 鈥�English skills a key for mobility and employment in the Middle East and North Africa鈥�

The post The new student recruitment landscape in Saudi Arabia appeared first on 黑料官网 Monitor - Market intelligence for international student recruitment.

This statement opens an important new study from the Observatory on Borderless Higher Education (OBHE), and it kicks off a wide-ranging survey of the scale and shape of online learning in key markets around the world.

In Whatever Happened to the Promise of Online Learning? The State of Global Online Higher Education, the OBHE sets out case studies for 12 selected countries and regions, and finds widely varying rates of adoption and experiences of online learning across this sample:

• China
• Egypt
• England and Scotland
• India
• Malaysia
• Mexico
• Saudi Arabia
• South Korea
• Spain
• Sub-Saharan Africa (excluding South Africa)
• United Arab Emirates
• United State of America

The study places these markets into one of five descriptive categories as follows:

• 鈥淒istance, Not Online.鈥� These markets have a large distance learning sector but one that makes little use of of online learning (e.g. Egypt, India).
• 鈥淥nline Learning as Marginal.鈥� These education systems are characterised by strong growth in enrolment on campus, but with very modest use of online learning (e.g. Saudi Arabia, UAE and Sub-Saharan Africa).
• 鈥淏lurred Growth.鈥� The OBHE considers that these countries have a muddled online learning context, with elements of distance learning, that nevertheless is growing more quickly than conventional delivery modes (e.g. Mexico, Spain).
• 鈥淐lear Online Growth.鈥� As distinct from 鈥淏lurred Growth鈥� markets, these countries feature a clearly defined online learning sector that is growing more quickly than campus-based programming (e.g. United States).
• 鈥淧eaked/Decline.鈥� Countries belonging to this final group have seen their online enrolment flatten or even decline in recent years (e.g. England, South Korea).

Keeping those broad categorisations in mind, the following chart provides a summary of the market share of online learning, and recent growth trends, for the 12 case study countries and regions.

Estimated share of fully online, blended, and other distance students in domestic higher education, with recent-year growth trends illustrated, for case study markets, 2016. Source: OBHE

One of the questions that the study aims to explore is why online learning has grown in some markets, but not in others. In the two markets where online and distance learning are more established 鈥� the US and China 鈥� the OBHE sees some common factors at work. This essentially boils down to a systemic commitment to online learning as a means of serving student populations that might otherwise have difficulty accessing higher education, whether because of geography, affordability, or lifestyle factors (i.e., family or career commitments).

“It is striking that online learning is the subject of so much hype and speculation around the world but there is so little objective, comparative analysis of how the delivery mode is actually playing out in different countries,鈥� said report author and OBHE Director Richard Garrett. 鈥淥ur hope is that this report 鈥� and the supporting case studies 鈥� help address this gap.”

The connection to international mobility

Of particular relevance to international recruiters, the study also considers the extent of online provision across borders 鈥� that is, the scale of 鈥渧irtual international mobility鈥� where students pursue online programmes offered by an institution overseas.

鈥淸One] strand of dotcom-era enthusiasm for online learning was the notion that the technology would disrupt national higher education systems, prompting large virtual student flows across country borders,鈥� says the study report. 鈥淐hampions foresaw in online learning a way to dramatically increase access to high quality programming, addressing absolute capacity limitations in some countries and quality or cost restrictions in others.鈥�

Even acknowledging that data on cross-border enrolments is limited in many markets, the OBHE finds little evidence of growth in this area. Looking back over a decade or more, total growth in international mobility has been significant, and the volume and variety of transnational education has also expanded considerably via more conventional modes such as international branch campuses and joint or dual degree programmes.

In the following chart, we see this pattern playing out through the examples of Australia, the UK, and the US as it tracks the volume of higher education provision for inbound cross-border students, those enrolled in campus-based TNE initiatives, and those following distance or online programmes that reach across borders. The overall growth rate since 2009 is also shown for each delivery mode.

International student enrolment for 2016 in Australia, the UK, and the US by mode of delivery. Source: OBHE

In the final analysis, the report anticipates a continued variability by market going forward in terms of the pace of adoption and nature of online learning provision. The OBHE projects continued growth in the sector, buoyed in large part by the strong underlying global demand for higher education. Its view of the sector鈥檚 outlook, however, is more tempered than the revolutionary forecasts offered in the past by other observers.

鈥淔or many institutions and students, a blend of online and in-person study may be the best way forward,鈥� notes the report. 鈥淏lended learning means that online learning complements rather than competes with the traditional campus, supports learners, faculty and staff where they live (in urban areas at least), and affords creative combinations of individualised and group, online and in-person learning. This vision of online higher education aligns online and campus development. Until online learning can embody at scale the best of one-to-one and small group interaction, most students will need more than online alone.鈥�

For additional background, please see:

• 鈥�The continuing expansion of online learning in the US鈥�
• 鈥�Major MOOC providers shifting focus to fee-paying students鈥�
• 鈥�How language schools are integrating online with traditional delivery鈥�
• 鈥�Online learning still expected to pressure traditional higher education models鈥�

The post Study explores adoption of online learning and its relationship to student mobility appeared first on 黑料官网 Monitor - Market intelligence for international student recruitment.

The announcement will affect all scholarship students currently enrolled in Canada. The Canadian Bureau for International Education reports that there were just under 10,000 Saudi students in Canada as of 2017, and CNN places the number of current scholarship recipients at . Both of those numbers are down significantly from even a few years ago when the Saudi government began to wind down the massive King Abdullah Scholarship Programme. The remaining scholarship students have now reportedly been advised to plan to transfer to other countries to continue their studies in the coming academic year.

The move comes amidst a rapidly escalating diplomatic spat between Saudi Arabia and Canada. The Kingdom has accused Canada of 鈥渂latant interference鈥� in its domestic affairs. At issue is a August Twitter post by Canada鈥檚 Minister of Foreign Affairs, Chrystia Freeland, which objected to the Kingdom鈥檚 recent detention of a Saudi activist.

Minister Freeland鈥檚 original Twitter post, along with a commentary from Perry Cammack, a fellow in the Middle East Programme at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace

In response, the Saudi government promptly expelled Canada鈥檚 ambassador to the Kingdom, and recalled its own envoy from Canada. The government has also said that, effective immediately, it is 鈥渇reezing of all new trade and investment between the Kingdom and Canada, while retaining its right to take other measures.鈥�

Those additional measures now include the suspension of scholarships for Saudi students in Canada, and, as of 13 August, the suspension of all Saudi Arabian Airlines service to Canada.

For its part, the Canadian government has affirmed its  and questioned the Saudi response. 鈥淲e are deeply concerned that Saudi Arabia has expelled Canada鈥檚 ambassador in response to Canadian statements in defence of human rights activists detained in the Kingdom,鈥� said Minister Freehand. 鈥淐anada will always stand up for the protection of human rights, including women鈥檚 rights and freedom of expression around the world. We will never hesitate to promote these values and we believe that this dialogue is critical to international diplomacy.鈥�

The Saudi government, meanwhile, remains firm in its view that Canada is overreaching in this case: 鈥淭he Canadian position is an open and transparent interference in the internal affairs of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and contrary to the most basic international norms and all the charters governing relations between countries,鈥� said an official statement. 鈥淚t is a grave and unacceptable transgression against the Kingdom鈥檚 regulations and procedures, and in violation of the judicial authority in the Kingdom. Throughout its long history, Saudi Arabia has not accepted and will not accept interference in its internal affairs or impose dictates on it from any country. The Canadian position is an attack on Saudi Arabia that requires a firm stance towards it. The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia expresses its absolute and categorical rejection of the position of the Canadian Government.鈥�

What happens next?

Official government sources from the Kingdom have not yet commented publicly on how current scholarship students will be affected, but the suspension of scholarships has been confirmed via  on the Saudi-owned Al Arabiya news service, which characterises the decision as a 鈥渟uspension of training, scholarships, and fellowships to Canada and the transfer all its students in that state to other countries.鈥� An education ministry spokesman has also said, via Twitter, that the government is working on an emergency plan to speed the transfer of students to other study destinations.

Canadian educators, along with Saudi students enrolled in Canada, have been left to absorb these latest developments with less than a month to go before the start of the new academic year.

Bessma Momani is a professor at the University of Waterloo and an analyst on Middle East affairs. In a series of related tweets from 6 August, she sets out in stark terms the situation for both students and their institutions.

A series of Twitter posts from Canadian university professor Bessma Momani

Related reports in Canadian media place the number of affected students in the range of 15,000鈥�16,000. However, official figures from Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada indicate the actual number of Saudi scholarship students in Canada this year is less than 8,000.

Even so, the economic impact of the move will be measured in the millions of dollars. 鈥淔or Canadian universities, this is a significant hit,鈥� said Thomas Juneau, an assistant professor at the University of Ottawa鈥檚 Graduate School of Public and International Affairs, in an interview this week with the newspaper.

For additional background, please see:

• 鈥�Canada books 20% growth in 2017鈥�
• 鈥�Adapting to the new realities of the Saudi Arabian market鈥�

The post Saudi Arabia orders its scholarship students out of Canada appeared first on 黑料官网 Monitor - Market intelligence for international student recruitment.

These are the types of trends that give rise to talk of a 鈥渄emographic dividend鈥� 鈥撀爋r the economic potential that derives from a shift in a population鈥檚 age structure, particularly when the working-age population is larger than a country鈥檚 non-working cohorts. And this is the opportunity, and the challenge, that Saudi Arabia now has.

Actual and projected population growth in Saudi Arabia for selected age cohorts, 2005鈥�2025. Source: PwC

This is the same potential that helped to fuel the massive King Abdullah Scholarship Programme (KASP), and that saw such large numbers of funded Saudi students going abroad over the past decade and more. With the spotlight squarely on such a generous scholarship programme, another important development was unfolding more quietly over roughly the same period: the Kingdom has also been quickly expanding its higher education capacity.

Total university capacity in Saudi Arabia reached about 1.7 million students as of 2016, up from 850,000 in 2009 and less than 650,000 in 2006. Most of this capacity resides in the Kingdom鈥檚 28 public universities, but the private sector, with its current group of ten institutions, is growing quickly. More to the point, given the more constrained public finance outlook in the country of late it will largely be the private sector where any further expansion through 2025 will likely take place. As the following chart reflects, the proportion of higher education enrolment accounted for by private universities is projected to expand from 6% in 2014 to 12% by 2020.

Higher education enrolment and college-aged population of Saudi Arabia, actual and projected, 2010鈥�2020. Source: PwC

Even so, the Saudi system is not keeping pace with labour market demand. It produces only about a fifth of the engineers that the economy requires, and foreign graduates fill nearly seven in ten science jobs. Saudi Arabia, QS reported last year, 鈥淗as a workforce shortage in many areas of science and technology, such as health, agriculture, engineering, biotechnology, nanotechnology, and information technology.鈥�

Vision 2030

These prevailing demographic and economic trends have been important drivers in Crown Prince Mohammad bin Salman鈥檚 to diversify and strengthen the Saudi economy.

The strategy sets out an ambitious programme of innovation that will see the Kingdom invest US$1.6 billion in research and development over the next two years alone. Within that envelope is a US$75 million allocation to support international partnerships, a mechanism which is projected to have a transformative effect on higher education in the country. 聽reports that, 鈥淭he Saudi Research and Development Office has identified six priority fields for international research collaboration: water; energy; information technology; petrochemicals; life sciences and health; and the environment.鈥�

Fuelled in part by this additional funding, the Saudi leadership aims to build the research capacity of its public universities and in turn to place five of those higher education institutions in the top 100 of major rankings by 2030. There are, at present, no Saudi universities in that top tier in any of the global tables.

Top placements of Saudi universities in major global ranking tables, 2012 and 2016. Source: PwC

Along with its increased research funding, Vision 2030 anticipates a modernisation of higher education curriculum, and closer links between Saudi universities and the country鈥檚 employers. And it is perhaps this point that underscores the wild card in the government鈥檚 wide-ranging plans for its higher education system. Building budgets is one thing but the pace and scale of change anticipated in Vision 2030 will require nothing less than a cultural shift, and very likely a greater commitment to academic freedom and open exchange.

This suggests that there are further important changes afoot in Saudi higher education, in terms of its capacity, research impacts, international links, and graduate outcomes. And this in turn raises the question as to how all of these developments at home will shape outbound mobility from the Kingdom over the next decade and more.

Will students stay home in greater numbers, or will the expanding college-aged population continue to encourage students to go abroad for access to high-quality, career-relevant qualifications? The answers to all such question are likely to become more clear well before 2030 as Saudi Arabia鈥檚 demographic dividend continues to come into sharper focus.

For additional background, please see:

• 鈥�Adapting to the new realities of the Saudi Arabian market鈥�
• 鈥�Report: Saudi scholarship programme to sharpen focus on top universities鈥�

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