Dubai Crown Prince inaugurates first-ever overseas campus of IIM Ahmedabad

Dubai Crown Prince Sheikh Hamdan bin Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum on Thursday inaugurated the Dubai campus of the Indian Institute of Management (IIM), Ahmedabad, according to the Ministry of Education.

Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan, who is on a two-day visit to the UAE, termed it another big leap towards globalisation of India’s education.

“IIM Ahmedabad Dubai campus will take the best of India to the world. Dubai, today, has provided the perfect launchpad to the ethos of ‘Indian in spirit, global in outlook’ by hosting the IIM Ahmedabad international campus,” Pradhan wrote on X.

Pradhan also met Abdulrahman Abdulmannan Al Awar, Acting Minister of Higher Education and Scientific Research of the UAE.

“Both leaders reviewed bilateral cooperation in higher education and agreed to further deepen knowledge bridges, making knowledge, innovation, and research central pillars of the Comprehensive Strategic Partnership,” the Ministry of Education (MoE) said in an official statement.

“The discussions also focused on joint research in critical and emerging areas, capacity building and promoting two-way cultural and academic exchanges. Reaffirming that India is a global hotspot of talent and the UAE a global economic hub, both sides underscored their shared commitment to strengthening people-to-people ties and advancing mutual priorities,” it added.

Later, the minister also visited the Manipal University campus in Dubai, where he had a roundtable discussion with principals of Indian higher education institutions including Symbiosis, BITS Pilani, MIT, Amity and others.

“Pradhan learnt about the UAE’s academic approaches and plans for the future. The minister outlined the need for moving the research value chain from the publication of research papers to productisation and marketisation.

“He also mentioned that there were productive deliberations on strengthening Brand India on the global education, innovation and entrepreneurship map,” the statement said.

“The minister also interacted with the principals of 109 Indian Curriculum schools in the UAE. Principals of CBSE schools in other GCC countries and all global CBSE schools have joined virtually.

“On the occasion, Pradhan announced the setting up of the 12 Atal Tinkering Labs in CBSE schools in GCC countries to ignite scientific inquiry and entrepreneurship among students through hands-on STEM projects,” it said.

At a symbolic event organised at the Indian Consulate in Dubai, Pradhan planted a sapling of the Ghaf tree, the national tree of the UAE, under the “Ek Ped Maa Ke Naam 2.0” campaign launched by Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

On Wednesday, Pradhan visited the Abu Dhabi campus of IIT Delhi.

He also inaugurated Atal Incubation Centre (AIC) on the IIT Delhi-Abu Dhabi campus, a first-ever AIC hosted in an Indian institution overseas.

Pradhan’s UAE visit is aimed at exploring collaborations in the field of education, fostering academic excellence and innovations and new avenues of partnership to meet the aspirations of the students and youths of both countries.