New York University Abu Dhabi

        New York University Abu Dhabi is a degree-granting liberal arts and research university, located in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates. Together with New York University in New York City and New York University Shanghai, the portal campus is part of NYU's Global Network University.

 It opened in 2008 at a temporary site for conferences and cultural events. The academic program opened in September 2010 on the permanent campus built on Saadiyat Island, Abu Dhabi.



In October 2007, New York University announced its intention to open a complete branch campus in Abu Dhabi, financed by the government of the United Arab Emirates.

 The Abu Dhabi campus was planned by New York University, and the funding mainly came from the UAE government.

The school was first opened in 2008 on a temporary site in downtown Abu Dhabi, where it held various public events such as academic conferences, workshops, and performances.

Alfred Bloom, former president of Swarthy more College, was appointed to lead NYU Abu Dhabi as vice chancellor in September 2008. NYU Abu Dhabi accepted its first class of 150 students in September 2010. As of 2010 the college offered liberal arts and science subjects, including engineering.

New York University moved the Abu Dhabi campus to a new site in 2014 in the Marina district of Saadiyat Island. It was designed by Rafael Viñoly, an Uruguayan architect, and built by Al-Futtaim Group Caril-lion. NYU eventually plans to have 2,000 students at the campus. The university plans to open a graduate school and to make the school a center for research.

President Bill Clinton, the 42nd President of the United States and founder of Clinton Foundation, was the keynote speaker at NYU Abu Dhabi inaugural commencement ceremony for 140 graduates held on May 25, 2014.

Canadian University of Dubai

The Canadian University Dubai, popularly known as CUD, is a private university of higher education in Dubai, United Arab Emirates, founded in 2006.

The Canadian University Dubai offers education based on the Canadian curriculum, giving internationally recognized quality and credibility. As a portal to Canadian Higher Education, they offer many unique options for students wishing to study or research in Canada.

Programs are offered within 6 different schools, with some programs such as in the School of Engineering, Applied Science and Technology leading to future opportunities as researchers within the University. Canadian University Dubai has an Office of Research Services that is networked with the top engineering research centers in Canada. Canadian University Dubai serves students from over 100 countries and offers them a Canadian-style education.

The Canadian University Dubai encourages students to use the materials that are available in the Learning Resource Center  for independent learning, research needs or personal improvement. Access to the LRC, loan of materials or electronic resources are available to all Canadian University Dubai students, faculty and staff.

The Learning Resource Center is located at the ground floor of Building A of the university campus.

The LRC houses over 10,000 print collection including books, journals and newspapers and a wide range of electronic resources; access to over 52,000 e-journals, over 494,000 e-books, 16,000 electronic videos, 2 million electronic images, access to 1.4 million titles of electronic Theses/Dissertations, over 300,000 accesses to Company Reports and Data.

These electronic resources can be access on and off campus 24/7.

LRC holds a series of information literacy to all CUD students and faculty every semester. CUD-LRC has an agreement with British Library that provides inter library loan whenever information required by the students and faculty is not available in the LRC.

LRC use the Library of Congress Classification. Computers and WiFi connections are available within the premises. There is also photocopying and printing services available in the LRC.

American University in Dubai

Following the Gulf War in 1991, a team led by Elias Bou Saab from the American College visited the Persian Gulf to establish relationships with various ministries of higher education as well as the region’s schools.


The lack of quality private education at the university level, coupled with an appreciation of the American model of higher education, led them to conduct a feasibility study on the prospects of establishing an American university in the Persian Gulf. The results confirmed the high level of interest and desire for a campus offering an American-accredited educational curriculum.


It also became quickly apparent that the Emirate of Dubai, in the United Arab Emirates, would be an ideal place to locate such an institution. Dubai was found to be a politically stable, cosmopolitan and outward-looking principality whose nearly non-existent private sector in higher education was just beginning to draw some attention.

Elias Bo Saab moved to Dubai in 1995 in order to officially establish the American University in Dubai, which in turn would not have been possible without the commitment and support from the outset of H.H.

Sheikh Mohamed Bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice President and Prime Minister of the UAE, Ruler of Dubai. To this day, His Highness continues his unlimited support for higher education in general and to the university in particular.

The American University in Dubai opened its doors in October 1995 as a branch campus of the American College, based in Atlanta, Georgia.

AUD’s initial enrollment was 165 students, over half of which were females. By the time former Secretary of State and Treasury James Baker gave the Keynote at AUD’s first commencement in 1998, enrollment had climbed to 499; and the Dubai government, as an expression of confidence, had decided to build a campus of 1,400,000 square feet for use by the university. AUD moved out of its initial premises to occupy this new, spacious, fully equipped campus in January 2000. Its enrollment at that time was 687.

The year 2000 was also significant because it was in that year that the university was officially licensed by the UAE Ministry of Higher Education and Scientific Research (MOHE). The private sector for higher education had grown considerably since AUD’s founding, and the Ministry saw fit to establish a formal licensure and (subsequently) accreditation process.

It was in 2000 that AUD’s largest academic department – Business Administration – was organizationally designated as a School. In 2001, a memorandum of understanding was signed between the American University in Dubai (AUD) and the Georgia Institute of Technology of Atlanta, GA to establish a School of Engineering. Representatives from Georgia Tech, including six senior faculty and administrative officers, visited AUD to finalize the adaptation of curricula to the requirements of the UAE.

In December 2007, and for the third time since its opening in 1995, The American University in Dubai received independent accreditation from the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools (SACS), one of America's seven regional accrediting commissions. AUD is the first and only institution outside of the US and Latin America to be granted this honor by SACS. AUD is now a fully independent institution.

The American University in Dubai also maintains an exchange program with the Georgia Institute of Technology in Atlanta, GA. Students from both institutions can take courses and receive credit through the exchange program