Internationalization in Higher Education in the UAE: Global trends and recommendation for its future

Proceedings of The 6th World Conference on Teaching and Education

Year: 2023

DOI:

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Internationalization in Higher Education in the UAE: Global trends and recommendation for its future

Dr. Rashid Al Riyami,Dr. Ghadah Al Murshidi

 

ABSTRACT: 

According to the Global Competitiveness Index, the United Arab Emirates (UAE) holds the top spot as the most competitive country in the Arab World. In response to the global economic climate, the UAE has prioritized education as a means to sustain its competitiveness, as noted by the Ministry of Higher Education (2018) and Schwab (2016). The progressive steps taken by the UAE have drawn attention from other nations, who have observed how the country leverages cuttingedge technologies, such as those associated with the fourth industrial revolution, to maintain its competitiveness  (Altbach, Reisberg & Rumbley, 2019). The focus of this research is to analyze the effects of the UAE’s Emiratisation plans, within the context of the fourth industrial revolution and national policy, on the higher education sector . This study explores the national and global contexts of change in educational policy in the United Arab Emirates. The study examines the current framework of economic, political and sociocultural policy objectives, highlighting patterns and the overall picture of current higher education policy. The study’s design and methodological approaches were primarily based on the analysis of secondary data. The findings reveal how four key drivers of the Emiratisation policy agenda in the context of the fourth industrial revolution have impacted higher education in the UAE.

keywords: National policy, global imperatives, UAE higher education landscape, Emiratisation agenda, heterogeneity, applied linguistics, TESOL