GCC countries which include UAE, Bahrain, Saudi Arabia, Oman, Qatar, and Kuwait are aiming to shift their focus from being fossil-fuel driven economies into knowledge-based economies. For this to happen, regional governments are prioritizing on improving the educational infrastructure of GCC countries. Another aspect that is driving the importance of higher education in the region is its increasing number of youth population which is estimated to reach 65 million by 2030. GCC countries view this as a great opportunity to increase the quality of their education and by doing so, nurture skilled talent who can contribute to their growth.  Apart from this, GCC countries are also aiming for the internationalization of higher education which focuses on equipping the student with the needed skills required to thrive not just in the present but also in the future global labor market. With internationalization of higher education holding so much significance in the future aspirations of GCC countries, let’s analyze how they are aiming to achieve the same.           

International Tie-ups to Improve Quality  

Over the last six decades, GCC countries have been able to clock in impressive economic growth backed by their oil wealth. And in the last decade or so, education in GCC countries have gone through multiple paradigm shifts with key emphasis on preparing students for the twenty-first century globalized world. In order to reform their higher education structure, GCC countries turned to the West encouraging international partnerships with foreign educational institutions. Apart from that, they have also been focusing on inviting branch campuses of international institutions into the region as well as opening the educational market for private players. Countries like Bahrain, Kuwait and Oman are exploring the opportunities of creating educational partnerships with international educational institutions in western countries. At the same time, UAE and Qatar is focusing more on inviting foreign educational institutions to start their branch campuses in their countries. Also, many of the wealthy nationals in GCC countries have started their own private educational institutions that are based on US university models.  

Now most GCC countries have both public and private institutions that have well established international partnerships. And among the 167 universities that were taken as a sample group for a study, 70 of them have already established international educational partnerships or they were the affiliates of international educational institutions. Looking at Bahrain, the country’s 2014-24 National Higher Education Strategy lays major emphasis on the internationalization of higher education in the country. Policy makers in Bahrain believe that these partnerships will not only help educational institutions in the country to improve the quality of their education but it will also make it more diverse. UAE is another country in the region that has a well-laid out national higher education strategy that focuses on delivering international modern-day education to their students.          

Welcoming Policy Changes

Over the years, UAE and Dubai in specific has developed into a higher education hub in the GCC region. And this growth is shown in the value of the UAE education market which stood at USD 5.2 billion in 2019. The segment is estimated to grow 8.3 percent annually as well. As of now, Dubai has 34 international HEIs offering 600 programs to their students. The impressive stat here is that, one in four students in these institutions is from outside the country. There are plethora of facets making Dubai and UAE as a whole an appealing study destination for international students. Last year, the UAE government did say that they are aiming to give longer term residence visas to foreign students doing their studies in the country. After this, His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice-President and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai also said that foreign students can bring their relatives into the country. This has the potential to be a game changer as it makes UAE not only an appealing higher education destination for international students but it also motivates them to settle down in the country.  

Importance of English Taught Programs

English is the universal language and knowing it will open a new world of opportunities for students. And as GCC countries were reforming their education structure to a western one, a key component of this transformation was the change from Arabic to English as a medium of instruction (EMI). This was one of the primary facets educators as well as policy makers focused on to not only increase the scope of higher education but to also internationalize it. And by offering more programs in English, students from GCC countries will be able to improve their mastery over the language which can increase their stock in the global labor market. Many HEIs in the region are now hiring foreign English language training (ELT) experts to formulate ELT education policies including writing and designing new textbooks as well as other study materials.     

That said, while prioritizing on English as a medium of instruction, many GCC countries have faced challenges to successfully implement this in their HEIs without adversely impacting the importance given to the Arabic language. Saudi Arabia through their vision 2030 aims to strengthen and preserve national identity in order to guide the lives of future generations. At the same time, a major emphasis is also given to social development and upholding the Arabic language. And it is important that GCC counties find the right balance between improving the Arabic language while at the same time introducing new English taught programs in their HEIs.

Even though, internationalization has been embraced in GCC higher education reforms, there are still some rough edges that need polishing before it can reach its true potential. But as countries in the region take further steps to develop into international higher education hubs, policy makers in the region sees internationalization of higher education as a great opportunity to propel GCC countries into one the leading economies and knowledge power houses of the twenty-first century. And not only will internationalization help GCC countries to nurture skilled talent but it will also open new alleyways for development and innovation opportunities in the region.