The UAE tops 17 countries in terms of university study options for national students

The results of a survey conducted by “Emirates Today” through its digital platforms revealed new features of the map of Emirati students’ preferred study destinations, and showed a clear shift in the priorities of choosing the university, country, and specialization, reflecting a change in the new generation’s view of higher education and the requirements of the future.

The survey showed the emergence of 17 countries on the list of educational destinations that most attracted the interests of participants, topped by the UAE, followed by the United States of America, then the United Kingdom.

The survey also revealed the frequency of about 15 specializations in the answers of students and parents, topped by the specializations of artificial intelligence, data science, and smart command engineering (Prompt Engineering), in addition to engineering in its various branches, medicine, and health sciences.

In detail, the results of a survey conducted by “Emirates Today” through its digital platforms with the participation of about 1,500 students, male and female, and parents, revealed a remarkable change in the priorities of Emirati students when making the decision to study university, as studying outside the country no longer represents the first option as it was prevalent years ago, but rather Emirati universities have advanced to the forefront of options, driven by the development they have achieved in the quality of academic programs, the rise in their global rankings, and their expansion in offering future specializations, in addition to the safe and stable educational environment they provide. And its closeness to family.

87% of the participants identified one country in which they preferred to study, while 13% simply mentioned the university major they wished to study, or expressed their opinions about studying inside or outside the country, without nominating a specific study destination. The UAE came in first place with 28% of the total country choices, in an index that reflects the growing confidence of students and parents in the national higher education system, and the qualitative development achieved by UAE universities in the quality of academic programs, educational structure, and the level of accreditation and international classification.

Participants attributed their choice of the Emirates to several factors, most notably the quality of education, community safety, stability, and proximity to family, as well as the ease of transitioning from school to the labor market within the country, considering that these factors provide the student with a stable educational environment that enhances opportunities for academic excellence and professional success.

A number of parents also believed that the continuation of their children’s studies within the country achieves a balance between academic excellence and family stability, especially in light of the availability of most university specializations within UAE universities, which reduces the need for external scholarships except in cases of fine specializations or programs that are not available locally.

The United States of America came in second place with 18% of the total choices, followed by the United Kingdom with 11%, while Japan and China came with 8% each, then Egypt with 7%, followed by Singapore and Australia with 5% each, while the remaining 10% was distributed among a number of countries, most notably Canada, Switzerland, Germany, Malaysia, the Netherlands, Russia, Ireland, Thailand and Hungary, reflecting the diversity of the aspirations of the participants. The choice of country is linked to a number of criteria, the most important of which are the quality of universities, the strength of academic programs, employment opportunities after graduation, the level of safety, quality of life, and the living environment.

The survey recorded a remarkable presence of new majors, including artificial intelligence engineering, smart command engineering (Prompt Engineering), data science, space engineering, energy engineering, and robotics, which reflects the high level of students’ awareness of the rapid transformations taking place in the labor market, and of the skills that will lead the economy of the future.

The specializations of medicine, engineering, law, and political science maintained their presence on the list of preferred specializations, but this time they came side by side with emerging specializations directly related to the Fourth Industrial Revolution, the digital economy, artificial intelligence, and technological transformation.

The results of the survey showed that the specializations of artificial intelligence, data science, and smart command engineering (Prompt Engineering) accounted for 26% of the total specializations mentioned by the participants, topping the list of the most in-demand specializations, in a clear reflection of the growing interest of students in the fields related to advanced technologies and the digital economy.

Engineering specializations in their various branches came in second place with 24%, followed by medicine and health sciences specializations with 22%, then aviation engineering and sciences with 10%, while law accounted for 7%, and political sciences had 3%.

The remaining 8% was distributed across a wide range of other specializations, including agriculture, environment, energy, space, nursing, psychology, and other modern and promising specializations.

The President of the University of Dubai, Dr. Issa Al Bastaki, told Emirates Today that the UAE’s topping the list of academic destinations reflects a qualitative shift in the perception of students and parents towards national universities, stressing that the UAE academic institutions have succeeded in recent years in building an advanced scientific reputation thanks to international accreditations, a rise in their global rankings, and attracting faculty members and researchers from prestigious universities.

He added that the student’s decision today is no longer based on the idea of ​​studying outside the country as much as it has become linked to the quality of the academic program, practical training opportunities, and employability after graduation, noting that this transformation is an indicator of the maturity of the higher education system in the country and its ability to compete regionally and globally.

Professor of Artificial Intelligence and Data Science, Professor Dr. Mohamed Abdel-Zaher, stated that the specializations of Artificial Intelligence, Data Science, and Smart Command Engineering topped the list of students’ choices, reflecting the high level of awareness among the new generation of the transformations taking place in the global labor market.

He stressed that the demand for these specializations is likely to increase in the coming years, in light of the expansion of the use of artificial intelligence technologies in various sectors, indicating that the student’s success in the future will not depend on the specialization alone, but rather on his possession of the skills of data analysis and programming, problem solving, innovation, and multidisciplinary work.

The Dean of the College of Information at Al Qasimia University, Dr. Bassam Makkawi, said that the results of the survey confirm the change in criteria for choosing a university and a country, as students have begun to evaluate study destinations according to the expected return on investment in education, and not according to the geographical location or the traditional reputation of the country.

He added that the student and his family are looking for a university that provides modern programs, opportunities for scientific research, partnerships with the industrial sector, practical training, and the possibility of obtaining a job after graduation, stressing that this trend reflects society’s transition from a culture of obtaining a university degree to a culture of building skills and human capital capable of competing in the knowledge economy.

• 15 most popular university majors… Artificial intelligence is at the forefront, and data science addresses students’ ambitions.

• 18% of total choices go to American universities, followed by the United Kingdom at 11%.