IIM Ahmedabad signs MoU with UAE to set up first international campus in Dubai
IIMA director Bharat Bhasker signed the MoU with Helal Saeed Almarri, director general of Dubai’s department of economy and tourism in Mumbai on Tuesday
The Indian Institute of Management Ahmedabad (IIMA) on Wednesday signed an agreement to set up its Dubai branch campus at the Dubai International Academic City (DIAC) and the commencement of the full-time one-year master’s in business administration (MBA) programme in September 2025.
IIMA director Bharat Bhasker signed the Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with Helal Saeed Almarri, director general of Dubai’s department of economy and tourism in Mumbai on Tuesday for the establishment of the IIMA Dubai campus. The MoU was signed in the presence of commerce and industry minister Piyush Goyal and Sheikh Hamdan bin Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Crown Prince of Dubai who is on his first official visit to India as the crown prince.
The institute will offer a full-time one-year MBA for working professionals and entrepreneurs as the first programme at its Dubai campus, with the admission process starting soon.
The admission will follow a rigorous two-stage process based on the standardised Graduate Management Admission Test (GMAT) or Graduate Record Examinations (GRE) score taken within the last five years. Candidates will be shortlisted for personal interviews based on their GMAT/GRE scores, along with their educational qualifications and work experiences, an IIMA official said, adding that those clearing the interviews will be granted admission.
The MBA programme at IIMA Dubai campus seeks to cater to the advanced management learning and upskilling needs of global working professionals and entrepreneurs.
“This immersive programme, with IIMA’s acclaimed case method pedagogy, aims to equip ambitious professionals with cutting-edge business insights to navigate global market challenges and prepare them for C-suite leadership while aligning with the UAE’s vision for innovation, entrepreneurship, and economic growth,” the institute said in a statement on Wednesday.
IIMA director Bhasker said, “Our presence in Dubai will also strengthen our offerings in India, and together, these two campuses will help us become a global leader in management education with a seamless exchange of innovation and knowledge..”
Sunjay Sudhir, India’s ambassador to the United Arab Emirates (UAE), said, “The IIMA campus in Dubai would bring the best of Indian management education to Indians in UAE and the wider region, our Emirati friends, and the truly global expat population which calls Dubai their home,” he added.
Pankaj Patel, chairperson, Board of Governors, IIMA, said, “Over the next decade, we envision this to be a thriving centre where young leaders of tomorrow will hone their skills, innovate and become pathfinders. As we create new learning experiences globally, we remain committed to transformative learning, leadership, and creating enduring impact in the community.”
Union education minister Dharmendra Pradhan said the move to set up an international campus at Dubai marks a significant milestone towards the globalisation of world-class Indian education institutions as envisioned in the National Education Policy (NEP) 2020.
“This collaboration will open new vistas for learning, innovation, and empowering future leaders for global good,” Pradhan said in a post on X.
The institute said the IIMA Dubai campus will be established in two phases. In the first phase, IIMA will be provided with space in DIAC and in the second phase, the institute will be provided with land where the permanent campus will come up and be operational from 2029.
“Both phases of the IIMA Dubai Campus will have state-of-the-art infrastructure with world-class facilities. The permanent campus will also come up in the DIAC,” an IIMA official said.
Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Madras and IIT Delhi have opened their foreign campuses in Tanzania’s Zanzibar in 2023 and UAE’s Abu Dhabi in 2024, respectively.