As Dubai cements its position as one of the fastest-growing education hubs for Indian students, the Middle East is rapidly emerging as a credible alternative to traditional destinations like the US, UK and Canada.
According to a recent report by study-abroad platform LeverageEdu, the number of student applications from India to Dubai has grown 40 times since 2023.
In this backdrop, we talk to Akshay Chaturvedi, Founder & CEO of Leverage Edu, to understand what is driving this shift, how families should evaluate Gulf-region campuses, and what students can expect from evolving visa and employability landscapes.
Here are some excerpts:
In recent years, countries like the UAE, Qatar, and Saudi Arabia have invested heavily in attracting global universities. What makes the Middle East an increasingly compelling destination for Indian students, especially in comparison to traditional destinations like the USA or the UK?
The primary reason for this trend is that Middle Eastern countries offer high quality education that meets global standards at far affordable tuition costs. For instance, several international branch campuses in Dubai now offer globally recognised postgraduate programmes at AED 50,000-85,000 per year, significantly lower than their parent campuses abroad. When combined with generally lower living costs than London or major US cities, families can expect roughly 20-40 per cent lower total annual costs in Dubai.
The Emirate’s proximity to India, robust safety standards, and strong student-support systems further reinforce its attractiveness.
Leading universities such as Middlesex University Dubai, Heriot-Watt University Dubai, University of Birmingham Dubai, and University of Wollongong Dubai have been central to this momentum, offering internationally aligned curricula with industry linkages and internship pathways.
Across the Middle East, more than 70 international university campuses operate today, including top names like NYU (UAE), Georgetown (Qatar) and Sorbonne (UAE). Indian education institutions, such as IIT Delhi, BITS Pilani, MAHE and SP Jain, also have campuses in Dubai. How should Indian families evaluate these campuses in terms of authenticity, accreditation, and global job value?
Families can begin with three simple checks: the global reputation of the parent university, the accreditation and licensing of the branch campus, and the precise wording on the degree certificate. Most leading international branch campuses in Dubai, Qatar and Abu Dhabi operate under established regulators such as KHDA in the UAE or Qatar’s Higher Education Council, which ensure programme quality, recognition and parity with the home campus.
Families should verify whether the degree awarded is identical to the parent institution’s, whether the campus meets international accreditation standards (e.g., AACSB, ABET, EQUIS), and whether credits and qualifications are portable across regions.
Equally important is the campus’s track record in internships and employability within the Gulf. Parents should ask for graduate employability data specific to Indian cohorts rather than relying on aggregate metrics.
Many institutions have built strong industry linkages across tech, logistics, finance and hospitality, offering students access to real pathways into the UAE and wider GCC workforce.
Parents often prioritise safety, affordability, and long-term career outcomes. How does the Middle East compare with traditional destinations like the UK, US, or Canada on these parameters?
Cities like Dubai and Abu Dhabi consistently rank among the safest in the world, giving parents confidence that students will have a stable living environment. From an affordability standpoint, international branch campuses often offer lower tuition fees, and living costs are generally more manageable than in cities like London or New York.
Where the region stands out most is employability. Dubai today is able to place a higher share of students into employment, and the wider Gulf ecosystem is reinforcing that momentum. Regulated internship pathways through MOHRE, Saudi Arabia’s sector-linked post-study visas and Qatar’s eased residency norms give students clearer, more predictable transitions into the workforce.
Combined with growing demand in tech, tourism, finance and logistics, the Gulf offers a level of employment traction and near-term stability that many Indian families increasingly factor into their decisions.
Across the Gulf region, employability policies have expanded: Saudi Arabia offers post-study work visas tied to priority sectors, Qatar has eased residency rules for graduates, and the UAE has Golden Visa pathways for top students. What should Indian parents understand about how these changing visa frameworks affect long-term career stability?
What Indian parents should understand is that the Gulf’s visa reforms are fundamentally designed around employability. Saudi’s priority-sector post-study visas, Qatar’s eased residency rules for graduates, and the UAE’s Golden Visa pathways all create a much clearer bridge from education into the workforce. These policies align graduates with sectors where demand is already strong, reducing uncertainty at the point of graduation.
When a region signals that it needs young talent and backs it with regulated internships, defined pathways and stable rules, students gain early traction in the job market. That early traction often sets the foundation for long-term career stability, which is increasingly becoming a decisive factor in how families evaluate study-abroad destinations. As the region continues to diversify its economy — be it tech and fintech to tourism, logistics, and clean energy — what emerging career opportunities can students expect, and how are universities aligning their programmes with this future job market?
As the region continues to diversify its economy — be it tech and fintech to tourism, logistics, and clean energy — what emerging career opportunities can students expect, and how are universities aligning their programmes with this future job market?
The GCC is in the middle of a major economic transformation. We’re seeing accelerated growth across fintech, AI and cybersecurity, tourism and large-scale events, aviation and logistics, and the broader sustainability economy. As these sectors scale, they also open up new demand and unlock pathways available to emerging talent. Universities have responded quickly with industry-designed programmes, embedded internships, and active collaborations with employers, including banks, airlines, sovereign funds and fast-growing technology hubs.
Our application patterns reflect this shift with Business and Management representing about two-thirds of total interest, followed by Data Science, Analytics, and AI, together accounting for nearly 80 per cent of interest.
With more than 2 million Indians already living across the Middle East and forming the world’s largest overseas Indian community, does this strong diaspora presence meaningfully improve the safety, cultural familiarity, and support ecosystem for Indian students compared to Western countries?
Absolutely.
With over two million Indians living across the Gulf, the region offers unmatched cultural familiarity and an immediate support ecosystem. Students find Indian communities, food, festivals and alumni networks in every major city, which meaningfully reduces cultural shock and helps them settle in much faster.
The diaspora also provides soft-landing support, mentorship and informal job networks that many first-time students lean on during their initial months. It makes the transition smoother and provides families with an added sense of reassurance.
