DUBAI // Only six years after opening, Heriot-Watt University in Dubai is preparing to unveil a new 4,000-capacity campus.
The branch campus of the Scottish institution, best known for its engineering programmes, has become one of the emirate's largest universities.
But with 2,000 students enrolled, the university is full.
"Last year, we reached capacity at our Academic City location," said Prof Ammar Kaka, the head of campus. "In five years' time, we anticipate our student numbers being around 3,500."
The first phase of the £200m (Dh1.2bn) campus, also in Dubai International Academic City, will include housing for staff and academics, laboratories, teaching space and offices. Phase two will include two halls of residence for 600 students and sports facilities.
This September, the institution will offer courses from all its home campus departments in Scotland, from engineering to textiles and design.
When it opened in 2005, Heriot-Watt had just 120 students, all on postgraduate courses. Since then it has added bachelor's and master's programmes, expanding to compete with older, bigger institutions such as the Australian University of Wollongong Dubai and the American University of Dubai - both of which have more than 3,000 students.
Dr Ben Hughes, of the faculty of engineering, said the new campus would make a marked difference to the experience of both students and academics.
"It will make a big difference to both teaching and research, he said. "We need better facilities."
The university is now working with several local companies to identify areas where research is needed, as well as scoping out what kind of graduates they need.
"We're trying to link with local businesses for the employability of our students," said Prof Kaka. "In Scotland, Heriot-Watt was established to meet the needs of the local community and we want to provide the same here. Our subject areas are all very job-focused."
To that end, the university is carrying out research for interest groups such as the Emirates Green Building Council.
From October, the institution will offer a master's in energy and water resources - a key concern in a country that has to desalinate almost all its water. It is also launching a bachelor's degree in interior design.
"The programmes have to be right for Dubai," said Dr Hughes. "It's not enough to be generating research alone."
As Heriot-Watt has grown, several rivals have floundered in Dubai's crowded marketplace.
Some of the emirate's 51 private universities and colleges have just a handful of students, while others - such as the International Institute for Technology and Management - have been forced to relocate out of the emirate after failing to meet the academic standards demanded by the regulator, the Universities Quality Assurance International Board. Others have failed to recruit enough students to keep them afloat.
Michigan State University's (MSU) Dubai campus cancelled its undergraduate operations last year after the economic crisis left it with too few students to justify its presence in the emirate. About 100 students had to either relocate to other universities, or go to the home campus in the US, after it cut back to just one master's programme.
Natasha Ridge, the head of research at the Dubai School of Government, said Heriot-Watt's approach was much more sustainable.
"The more successful universities benefit from taking a longer-term approach to growth," she said, "which means they start small, usually with postgraduate programmes, and then assess the needs of the market for other offerings or undergraduate once they are on the ground.
"MSU I think would have succeeded if it had followed a similar model."
mswan@thenational.ae
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
What are the GCSE grade equivalents?
- Grade 9 = above an A*
- Grade 8 = between grades A* and A
- Grade 7 = grade A
- Grade 6 = just above a grade B
- Grade 5 = between grades B and C
- Grade 4 = grade C
- Grade 3 = between grades D and E
- Grade 2 = between grades E and F
- Grade 1 = between grades F and G
Our legal columnist
Name: Yousef Al Bahar
Advocate at Al Bahar & Associate Advocates and Legal Consultants, established in 1994
Education: Mr Al Bahar was born in 1979 and graduated in 2008 from the Judicial Institute. He took after his father, who was one of the first Emirati lawyers
Mercer, the investment consulting arm of US services company Marsh & McLennan, expects its wealth division to at least double its assets under management (AUM) in the Middle East as wealth in the region continues to grow despite economic headwinds, a company official said.
Mercer Wealth, which globally has $160 billion in AUM, plans to boost its AUM in the region to $2-$3bn in the next 2-3 years from the present $1bn, said Yasir AbuShaban, a Dubai-based principal with Mercer Wealth.
“Within the next two to three years, we are looking at reaching $2 to $3 billion as a conservative estimate and we do see an opportunity to do so,” said Mr AbuShaban.
Mercer does not directly make investments, but allocates clients’ money they have discretion to, to professional asset managers. They also provide advice to clients.
“We have buying power. We can negotiate on their (client’s) behalf with asset managers to provide them lower fees than they otherwise would have to get on their own,” he added.
Mercer Wealth’s clients include sovereign wealth funds, family offices, and insurance companies among others.
From its office in Dubai, Mercer also looks after Africa, India and Turkey, where they also see opportunity for growth.
Wealth creation in Middle East and Africa (MEA) grew 8.5 per cent to $8.1 trillion last year from $7.5tn in 2015, higher than last year’s global average of 6 per cent and the second-highest growth in a region after Asia-Pacific which grew 9.9 per cent, according to consultancy Boston Consulting Group (BCG). In the region, where wealth grew just 1.9 per cent in 2015 compared with 2014, a pickup in oil prices has helped in wealth generation.
BCG is forecasting MEA wealth will rise to $12tn by 2021, growing at an annual average of 8 per cent.
Drivers of wealth generation in the region will be split evenly between new wealth creation and growth of performance of existing assets, according to BCG.
Another general trend in the region is clients’ looking for a comprehensive approach to investing, according to Mr AbuShaban.
“Institutional investors or some of the families are seeing a slowdown in the available capital they have to invest and in that sense they are looking at optimizing the way they manage their portfolios and making sure they are not investing haphazardly and different parts of their investment are working together,” said Mr AbuShaban.
Some clients also have a higher appetite for risk, given the low interest-rate environment that does not provide enough yield for some institutional investors. These clients are keen to invest in illiquid assets, such as private equity and infrastructure.
“What we have seen is a desire for higher returns in what has been a low-return environment specifically in various fixed income or bonds,” he said.
“In this environment, we have seen a de facto increase in the risk that clients are taking in things like illiquid investments, private equity investments, infrastructure and private debt, those kind of investments were higher illiquidity results in incrementally higher returns.”
The Abu Dhabi Investment Authority, one of the largest sovereign wealth funds, said in its 2016 report that has gradually increased its exposure in direct private equity and private credit transactions, mainly in Asian markets and especially in China and India. The authority’s private equity department focused on structured equities owing to “their defensive characteristics.”
In numbers: PKK’s money network in Europe
Germany: PKK collectors typically bring in $18 million in cash a year – amount has trebled since 2010
Revolutionary tax: Investigators say about $2 million a year raised from ‘tax collection’ around Marseille
Extortion: Gunman convicted in 2023 of demanding $10,000 from Kurdish businessman in Stockholm
Drug trade: PKK income claimed by Turkish anti-drugs force in 2024 to be as high as $500 million a year
Denmark: PKK one of two terrorist groups along with Iranian separatists ASMLA to raise “two-digit million amounts”
Contributions: Hundreds of euros expected from typical Kurdish families and thousands from business owners
TV channel: Kurdish Roj TV accounts frozen and went bankrupt after Denmark fined it more than $1 million over PKK links in 2013
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How to wear a kandura
Dos
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The alternatives
• Founded in 2014, Telr is a payment aggregator and gateway with an office in Silicon Oasis. It’s e-commerce entry plan costs Dh349 monthly (plus VAT). QR codes direct customers to an online payment page and merchants can generate payments through messaging apps.
• Business Bay’s Pallapay claims 40,000-plus active merchants who can invoice customers and receive payment by card. Fees range from 1.99 per cent plus Dh1 per transaction depending on payment method and location, such as online or via UAE mobile.
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• 2checkout’s “all-in-one payment gateway and merchant account” accepts payments in 200-plus markets for 2.4-3.9 per cent, plus a Dh1.2-Dh1.8 currency conversion charge. The US provider processes online shop and mobile transactions and has 17,000-plus active digital commerce users.
• PayPal is probably the best-known online goods payment method - usually used for eBay purchases - but can be used to receive funds, providing everyone’s signed up. Costs from 2.9 per cent plus Dh1.2 per transaction.
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Name: Hassan Mohsen Elhais
Position: legal consultant with Al Rowaad Advocates and Legal Consultants.
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