UK AND NETHERLANDS POPULAR HIGHER EDUCATION CHOICES FOR UAE STUDENTS
▶ Visa changes and costs driving decisions to pursue undergraduate studies in less conventional nations, experts say
Britain and the Netherlands are proving popular for UAE students looking to study abroad, while Japan and the Czech Republic are among the less conventional choices, experts have said.
Visa changes that came into effect last month in the UK mean many students cannot take dependents to the country but this is unlikely to deter UAE students, as most head there for their first degrees.
Last year, there was a rise in the number of UAE students accepted into British universities, bucking a global trend.
New figures show the number of international students from outside the EU who were accepted fell by 0.9 per cent to 61,470, from 62,200 in 2022.
But 1,710 people applying from the UAE were offered places last year – an increase of 17 per cent from 1,460 in the previous year.
Rema Menon, director of Counselling Point Training and Development, an academic counselling centre, said the UK was still a popular choice for UAE students heading abroad for undergraduate studies.
“The visa regulations mainly impact postgraduate students and a lot of UAE students are going for undergraduate programmes,” she said. “Some students have been accepted in Canada but because of the policy changes announced in Canada, have now applied to UK.”
Canada has cut the number of international student visas by more than a third this year, compared with 2023 when it hosted more than 900,000 students from overseas.
“Increasingly, students are looking at the safety and security that the UAE provides,” said Ms Menon. “As more new options become available here, they are looking at doing undergraduate studies here and then going abroad for master’s studies.”
Finland has become more popular with students, said Vandana Mahajan, founder of Futures Abroad, an education consultancy in the Emirates.
“The reason a lot of students are opting for Finland is because they can take their families with them,” she said. “I’m seeing a lot of increase in interest for Japan. People are seeking unconventional countries.”
Ms Mahajan said students wanted to study in locations that promised something different and offered prospects for their family and careers.
Last year, the Japan International Co-operation Centre Abu Dhabi said 63 Emirati students were studying in Japan.
“We are seeing more applications now for Europe and the US than any other destinations like Canada or Australia,” Ms Mahajan said.
“The US will continue to have great prospects for Stem-related programmes. The other biggest countries for higher education are in Europe.
“Unconventional countries in Europe like the Czech Republic, Finland, Ireland and Germany are very popular because they are affordable.”
In the Netherlands, international students from outside the EU can expect to pay from €6,000 ($6,429) to €15,000 a year for a bachelor’s degree. Students with EU passports pay a flat annual fee of €2,209 for undergraduate studies.
British universities charge foreign students between £11,400 ($14,327) and £38,000. The average cost is about £22,200 a year for a bachelor’s degree.
Madhav Juneja, UAE country manager for Crimson Education, which helps students apply for university, also said Europe had become more popular with students during and after Covid-19 because of its relative proximity to the Emirates.
“I’d say the Netherlands is the top one [in Europe], just in terms of English-taught programmes available for international students,” he said.
There is a lot of demand to study medicine in the Netherlands, especially as many students seek an alternative to the competitive British medicine courses, he said.
The Netherlands attracts more than 100,000 foreign students each year. Between 2022 and 2023, there were 122,287 international students attending state-funded institutions in the country, according to Nuffic, the Dutch organisation for internationalisation in education.
Areesh Sami, 18, a Pakistani pupil in Dubai hopes to start her bachelor’s degree at Vrije University in Amsterdam, which has made her a conditional offer to study law. She initially considered studying in the Netherlands because the grade requirements were lower than in the UK and the US.
“I don’t have to stress myself out as much during exam season. Student life is really nice and it’s a very walkable city, which appeals to me very much,” said Areesh.
“I also like that most of the courses are very interdisciplinary. I have an interest in environmental law and I feel like the Netherlands is better for that.”
She said she picked the Netherlands mainly for its quality of life and affordability.
Yagiz Ozenci, 17, a Turkish pupil in Dubai, will move to the US to study economics and physics at the University of Pennsylvania. The university charges about $90,000 a year for the bachelor’s course.
He said the brand impact that US universities carried was a crucial factor.
“The main thing for me is the opportunity. It’s not like Canada or the UK do not have that opportunity; it’s just that when you have a country that is the size of a continent, the possibility there is not really comparable,” Yagiz said.
Unconventional countries like the Czech Republic, Finland and Ireland are very popular because they are affordable
VANDANA MAHAJAN
Founder of Futures Abroad