Registration is open for the third edition of the Hamdan bin Mohammed Academic Scholarship Program for Emirati students

The Knowledge and Human Development Authority in Dubai announced the opening of registration for the third edition of the Hamdan bin Mohammed Academic Scholarship Program for Emirati students from the Emirate of Dubai for the next academic year 2026-2027, starting today (Monday) until June 30, 2026, through the “Emirati” platform in the “Dubai Now” application on smart phones.

His Highness Sheikh Hamdan bin Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Crown Prince of Dubai, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Defence, and Chairman of the Executive Council of the Emirate of Dubai, launched the Hamdan bin Mohammed Academic Scholarship Program in 2024 to support distinguished Emirati students who graduate from public and private schools, and enable them to pursue their university studies in the most prestigious international universities and academic programmes, with a total budget for the program estimated at one billion and 100 million dirhams over the coming years.

The program comes within the framework of the Dubai Social Agenda 33 initiatives, embodying the vision of His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice President and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai, may God protect him, to invest in people to ensure the achievement of real and sustainable development.

The program aims to develop Emirati human resources in the Emirate of Dubai by combining academic excellence with the development of specialized, leadership and entrepreneurial skills. The program also encourages Emirati talents to enroll in strategic specializations that contribute to supporting the future growth of the emirate, in line with the Dubai Economic Agenda (D33), targeting the selection of the best 100 male and female students annually from outstanding Emirati graduates of public and private schools in various educational curricula, to study bachelor’s degrees in specializations that add qualitative value in sectors of strategic priority, within a vision that contributes to preparing a generation of leaders and innovators capable of advancing the wheel of development in the emirate.

Quality specializations
The first and second editions of the program recorded a wide response from academically distinguished Emirati students to study in a number of prestigious international universities.
Last year, 70% of the program’s students enrolled in universities ranked among the top 100 universities in the world, which reflects the level of academic excellence enjoyed by the program’s students and the quality of its outcomes.
The students’ specializations varied between computer science, artificial intelligence and digital technologies, business, economics and finance, engineering and the built environment, medicine and life sciences, law and social sciences, which reflects the diversity of the students’ interests and their keenness to contribute to various vital sectors, in line with the objectives of the Dubai Education Strategy 2033.

National cadres
Dr. Amna Al Mazmi, Executive Director of the Development and Human Development Sector at the Knowledge and Human Development Authority in Dubai, said: “The Hamdan bin Mohammed Academic Scholarship Program embodies the vision of our wise leadership in building qualified Emirati competencies capable of contributing to creating a prosperous future for their country. The diversity in the specific specializations in which the program’s students are enrolled reflects the program’s pivotal role in building future leadership cadres, by empowering outstanding Emirati students with knowledge, experience, and leadership skills, and supporting them in Achieving their ambitions and actively participating in the development process of the UAE.”
She added: “We are proud of the achievements of the students of the previous two batches of the program, and we look forward to supporting more outstanding Emirati students in their next step to become influential national leaders in the government and private sectors. We also urge Emirati families in Dubai to seize this exceptional opportunity, based on our firm conviction that family support for their children’s academic career is a pivotal element in building a prosperous future for our society and our nation.”

Program terms
To join the program, the applicant must be a citizen of the United Arab Emirates and hold a family book issued by the Emirate of Dubai, and must be a high school graduate in the year of scholarship or in the previous academic years (not exceeding two years maximum), and must have obtained a high school diploma from an accredited academic system that is equivalent to it from the Ministry of Education, or be among the top high school students who are determined annually.

The general conditions also include that the applicant must not have received another scholarship from any entity inside or outside the United Arab Emirates, that he must have personally applied for admission to the scholarship program on the specified dates, that he must have obtained conditional or unconditional acceptance into a specific program and university from an academic institution that meets the standards and conditions of the scholarship program, and that he must be fully dedicated to studying in the scholarship country.