Page 97 - AJMAN UNIVERSITY PR REPORT - MARCH 2025

Still growing

Experts said university options for students wanting to explore higher education

in the UAE are improving.

“There are certain things I'm very happy that we are somewhere in the rankings
now, but there are so many subjects that we still don't o er,” said education
consultant Rema Menon Vellat. “We are still in our nascent phase and we're

growing exponentially. When I first came in here in 1998 it was all about
business, and most of the institutions were o ering related courses.”

There is now a greater focus on science, technology, engineering and

mathematics, according to the founder of Counselling Point Training and
Development.

“There is a trickle-down e ect. If government policies indicate a need to focus

on logistics and supply chain, then that's where people will start investing their
time and energy.

“But I feel we have many areas underserved, such as veterinary science,

occupational and behavioural therapies, agriculture and farming.”

Ms Vellat said there was an increase in the number of students in the UAE
choosing to study at local universities, rather than travel overseas, a trend also
seen elsewhere.

In the Netherlands, the number of foreign student applications dropped
significantly last year. Vrije Universiteit (VU) in Amsterdam saw a 23 per cent
decline, and Groningen University reported 14 per cent fewer students from the

European Economic Area (EEA).

Overall, the Netherlands reported a 6 per cent decline in EU students and 9 per
cent fewer non-EEA based applicants.

Reducing foreign student numbers

The drop was largely driven by new government policies to reduce the number
of foreign students, including limiting English use in bachelor’s programmes.