According to a scholar from one of the world’s most prestigious business schools, there is a growing interest among students around the world, even from the UK and Europe, in choosing Dubai for their education and career development. Experts noted that while mid-career can be a challenging time, many often see executive MBA programs as a way to elevate their careers, reported by Khaleej Times.
As a result, many professionals are choosing to live and work in Dubai, especially at schools such as the London Business School, which offer hybrid study options for some of its programs here. Ben Hardy, academic director of leadership programs and clinical professor of organizational behavior at the London Business School, said: “We continue to see strong demand for our Executive MBA (EMBA) program in Dubai, with our latest intake in September up on previous years and our January intake in line with the previous year.”
Middle Easterners choose Dubai for their education
Hardy highlighted that over the past 12 months, while 46% of their students were Middle Eastern nationals, 75% of all students were based in the region, with the majority residing in the UAE and Saudi Arabia. Among those studying in Dubai but residing elsewhere, last year’s students included residents of the UK, Turkey, India and Azerbaijan.
Ben Hardy added: “We see around 100 students studying on our EMBA programme at our Dubai campus each year. We attract students who were born and live in the Middle East, others from other regions who live in the region, as well as students who travel to Dubai from outside the region to take part in the programme. In total, we expect over 80 students from the Middle East region to study on our new Smart EMBA, with the majority choosing our programmes in September and January in Dubai. The development of a new programme in January 2026, offering a mix of in-person and online learning, may also change some of the location decisions compared to previous years.
New study format
Ben Hardy expects that this new format may encourage some students, for example those based in the UK or Europe, to choose to study in Dubai. Similarly, we expect more students from the Middle East to be interested in studying at our London campus. Ben Hardy stressed that students value the opportunity to network and learn from each other.
“So our new degree formats still have at least 40 per cent of the core coursework being face-to-face, where students will be with their peers. As they choose from over 100 electives on offer, they will also have the opportunity to network and build community with the wider LBS community,” added Ben Hardy.