Establishing a Destination for International Higher Education in Dubai.

Due to an under-value of knowledge acquisition the Middle Eastern suffers from a shortage of higher education institutes of an international quality, stated the UNDP, Arab Human Development Report, 2003. In addition, what academic institutes there were invariably did not offer modern courses in scientific disciplines or practice R&D. This directly impacted on the region’s long-term strategy to develop into a knowledge, people not oil, driven economy [Fergany, 2003]. Due to the above factors many regional students would travel overseas to study and remain in that market upon graduation, leading to a deficit of skilled workers in the region. In 2002, to retain and develop regional talent, the Dubai Government created Dubai Knowledge Village. This new destination for education was established to provide a regional meeting-point between Middle Eastern students and global education, by attracting quality international academic institutes to Dubai. Dubai Knowledge Village will accelerate the region’s move into the knowledge economy by providing the ongoing resources for the development of knowledge workers.