Education is in the forefront of furthering “emiratization.”

The emirate of Abu Dhabi is on a mission to incorporate more Emiratis into the workplace and reduce its reliance on expats to further the advancement of their own people to lead the country into fully-emerged status. Higher education programs for Emirati students are undergoing changes to become more comprehensive in order to accelerate the integration.

I was told at a meeting last week with the President and Provost of Khalifa University that a medical school would soon be constructed adjacent to the present campus on the island. The university currently focuses on the many engineering disciplines.

Also recently announced – construction will soon begin on Cranleigh, an independent British school founded in 1865, on Saadiyat Island in the emirate of Abu Dhabi. The school will be built to accommodate approximately 1,600 students from pre-school to university level when it opens in 2014.

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