10-04-2025
Dubai students to get unprecedented access to top Indian universities like AIIMS, IIMA
Students in Dubai will soon have access to top Indian universities like All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS), Indian Institute of Management (IIM) and Indian Institute of Foreign Trade (IIFT), thanks to agreements signed during the first India visit of Sheikh Hamdan bin Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Crown Prince of Dubai.
A deal was signed between Dubai Medical University (DMU) and the All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) — one of the South Asian country's top medical institutes — which gives students from DMU an opportunity to have an exchange programme in India.
The cooperation agreement, signed by Yahya Saeed Lootah, Vice Chairman of the Board of DMU, and Ahamadulla Shariff, Head of the Department of Anatomy at AIIMS, aims to strengthen academic and research collaboration.
According to Dr Shariff, the program will begin this year. 'Initially, there will be some posting of DMCG students for a short time as observers, along with our students, at AIMS Delhi,' he told Khaleej Times. 'Based on the requirement, some of our professors may come over for a short time as visiting faculty.'
Sheikh Hamdan's two-day visit to the country, which came at the invite of Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi saw several landmark agreements being signed, strengthening cooperation between both countries significantly.
'This is a great opportunity for our students,' said Denis Lefrancois, advisor to the chairman of S.S. Lootah group. 'With the history of the AIIMS, all of their great experience, skills, facilities that they have, the number of patients that they see, the number of students that go through the institution, it is so going to be a great experience for our students.'
The AIIMS is a group of public medical universities in India. The oldest one was established in 1956 in New Delhi and currently there are 20 operational universities, with at least three more expected in the coming years. Considered one of the finest medical universities in India, AIIMS collectively takes in over 2,000 students every year.
Key areas of collaboration include joint research in priority fields such as infectious diseases, metabolic disorders, and climate change, and the development of global health initiatives. The agreement also provides a framework for the exchange of academic materials and research publications. The agreement also covers cooperation with AIIMS in areas related to AI research, development, and digital transformation in medical education and healthcare.
Top business schools
The Dubai Department of Economy and Tourism (DET) signed an MoU with the Indian Institute of Management Ahmedabad (IIMA), one of Asia's leading business schools and India's top-ranked business schools, to establish a world-class IIMA campus in Dubai.
The IIMA Dubai Campus is envisioned as a global centre of excellence, serving the broader Middle East, Africa, and Central Asia regions and will be developed in two phases. In the first phase, IIMA will be allocated space within the Dubai International Academic City (DIAC) where the institute will launch its One-Year Full-Time MBA Programme later this year.
In the second phase, IIMA will be allotted land for the establishment of a permanent campus, which is expected to become operational by 2029.
The MoU was signed by Helal Saeed Almarri, Director General of the Dubai Department of Economy and Tourism, and Bharat Bhasker, Director of IIMA and will support the Dubai Economic Agenda D33 by developing business leadership talent and contributing to the development of a globally competitive innovation ecosystem in the emirate.
