Staff
The partnership is aimed at boosting the competitiveness of UAE universities on the world stage
Dubai, May 9, 2025: The Ministry of Higher Education and Scientific Research (MoHESR) has entered into a strategic partnership with Quacquarelli Symonds (QS), the global higher education analytics firm behind the annual QS World University Rankings, to conduct a comprehensive evaluation of the UAE’s higher education landscape. This collaboration is part of the Ministry’s efforts to transform the country’s universities into global leaders through data-driven insights and strategic synergies.
Through this initiative, QS will assess the performance of UAE-based higher education institutions (HEIs), benchmark them against top global universities and identify key areas for growth and transformation. The resulting insights will inform policies that strengthen the higher education sector’s contribution to developing a sustainable, knowledge-based national economy.
Dr. Mohammad Al Mualla, Undersecretary of MoHESR, says, “The collaboration with QS reflects the Ministry’s commitment to enhancing the performance of UAE universities and boosting their competitiveness on the world stage. This project gives our universities a valuable opportunity to work with a leading global rankings agency at a subsidised cost.”
“By partnering with QS, we will gain a holistic view of our universities’ global standing, allowing us to discover any potential areas of improvement and devise targeted strategies to address them,” he adds.
The project will be implemented in four phases over six months. In the first phase, Capacity Building, representatives of participating universities will attend training workshops to understand QS’s ranking methodology, data definitions and submission protocols. In the Data Submission and Validation phase, QS will collect data from the universities and perform rigorous verification. In phase three, QS will use the data to conduct global benchmarking, gap analysis and simulation modelling.
In the final phase, QS will deliver bespoke performance reports for each participating university, offering best-practice guidance and improvement strategies, as well as a national report summarising sector-wide insights to support evidence-based decision-making at the federal level. It will also hold a ministerial workshop that will involve developing a strategic roadmap in line with the UAE’s National Strategy for Higher Education 2030.
