University to open campus in Dubai

BIRMINGHAM University is to become the latest UK institution to set up a campus overseas, announcing plans to open in Dubai.

Students will begin undergraduate and postgraduate courses in September next year, the university said.

Vice-chancellor and principal Professor Sir David Eastwood said that the move shows Birmingham’s ambition as an “outward looking, world-class institution”.

The campus, in Dubai International Academic City (DIAC), will be aimed at students in the Middle East, as well as south-east Asia, although anyone will be able to apply.

The first courses will cover areas including business, economics, computer science, mechanical engineering and teaching.

DIAC is an international education hub for 25 other institutions, including the Dubai campus of Scotland’s Heriot-Watt University.

Sir David said: “For more than a century, we have been welcoming international students to our campus in Birmingham and for the last 20 years have been providing opportunities for students to study on University of Birmingham degree programmes at partner institutions, including in China and Singapore.

“We have strategic partnerships in the USA, Australia, China, and Brazil and active research collaborations across the world.

“Opening a campus in Dubai is the next step in our global mission and demonstrates our ambition as an outward looking, world-class institution.”

A number of UK universities have at least one overseas campus. One example is Nottingham University which operates in China and Malaysia.