New Country Report: United Arab Emirates

QAA has published its United Arab Emirates (UAE) Country Report for International Insights Members. The report provides an overview of the higher education and regulatory landscape in the UAE and offers high-level information and intelligence about regulations, challenges and opportunities relevant to UK transnational education (TNE) providers looking to expand operations in the UAE.

UAE is a federal state of seven emirates in the eastern part of the Arabian Peninsula, with the city of Abu Dhabi serving as the capital. The total population of the UAE is approximately 9.8 million people.

The development of a knowledge-based economy to enable flexible and sustainable responses to changes in labour market demand and global developments is a key aim of federal and local strategies and policies in the UAE. The quality of education offered at all levels of study is central to achieving this goal, evidenced by UAE’s determination to create and maintain an education sector comparable with international standards, able to facilitate leading research and innovation globally.

Education is viewed as a fundamental part of the UAE’s progressive society and is a key component of UAE national strategies, as outlined in the report. The report also provides updates on the roles and responsibilities of QAA's partners in the UAE who provided invaluable contributions to the report including the Commission for Academic Accreditation (CAA), Abu Dhabi Department of Education and Knowledge (ADEK), Knowledge and Human Development Authority, Dubai (KHDA) and Ras Al-Khaimah Economic Zone Authority (RAKEZ).

UAE is the second largest host country of UK higher education TNE students in the Middle East with 12,860 students registered in 2018-19 - amounting to 36.0% of the total student number for the region - and 14,750 UK TNE students registered in 2019-20.

QAA’s International Insights Members were also invited to join a webinar on ‘The Journey to Licensure and Accreditation in the UAE - Understanding the Role of the Commission for Academic Accreditation in the HE Landscape’ on 8 February 2021. The webinar was led by Professor Rhys Rowland-Jones, Commissioner for the CAA, who explained his role in the higher education quality assurance landscape and the process for obtaining CAA licensure and programme accreditation.

A follow-up webinar will be held on 24 March on ‘Understanding the Role of Emirate Specific Agencies in the Higher Education Landscape in the United Arab Emirates’ and will include presentations from three Emirate-specific agencies. The aim of the webinar is to provide QAA Members working with institutional partners or delivering TNE in the UAE, with an overview of the remits, roles, functions and individual processes of recognition of the different agencies.