IIM Ahmedabad opens first overseas campus in Dubai

IIM-A Dubai will tentatively begin its academic activities by the end of September with a full-time one-year MBA for working professionals and entrepreneurs

Published on: Sep 12, 2025, 05:16:10 IST

By Sanjay Maurya, New Delhi

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Dubai Crown Prince Sheikh Hamdan bin Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum on Thursday inaugurated the first-ever overseas campus of Indian Institute of Management Ahmedabad (IIM-A) at the Dubai International Academic City (DIAC).

IIM Ahmedabad opens first overseas campus in Dubai

The inauguration ceremony was held in presence of UAE’s acting minister of higher education and scientific research Dr. Abdulrahman Abdulmannan Al Awar and India’s Union education minister Dharmendra Pradhan, who was on a two-day visit to the UAE.

Welcoming India’s top business school’s campus to Dubai, Maktoum said that the opening of IIM-A’s first international campus in the emirate reflects the deep-rooted ties and growing partnership between the UAE and India.

“The energy and ambition of our youth are the driving forces of Dubai’s future, and by equipping them with the knowledge, skills, and values to succeed in a rapidly changing international environment, we are empowering them to lead with confidence,” he added.

Speaking on the occasion, Pradhan said that the establishment of IIM-A Dubai campus is “another big leap towards globalisation of India’s education as envisioned by the Prime Minister Narendra Modi”. He added that the insitute’s Dubai campus will take the best of India to the world.

IIM-A Dubai will tentatively begin its academic activities by the end of September with a full-time one-year MBA for working professionals and entrepreneurs.

Pradhan thanked the UAE for supporting Indian institutions in Dubai and stressed upon India’s talent strength and UAE’s economic prominence in deepening bilateral ties, the education ministry said in a statement.

He also held a roundtable discussion with officials of Indian institutions Manipal University, Symbiosis University, BITS Pilani, and Amity University – which have established their campuses in Dubai – and outlined the need to move research from papers to products. He also interacted with principals of 109 Indian schools in the UAE (with others joining virtually) and announced that 12 UAE schools will set up Atal Tinkering Labs to promote innovation among students.

On his first day of UAE visit, Pradhan on Wednesday inaugurated the Atal Incubation Centre (AIC) at IIT Delhi’s Abu Dhabi campus, a first-ever AIC hosted in an Indian institution overseas. He also launched B.Tech and Ph.D programs in chemical engineering and energy and sustainability at IIT Delhi Abu Dhabi.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Sanjay Maurya
Sanjay Maurya is a Principal Correspondent with Hindustan Times, where he covers education, with a focus on school and higher education, competitive examinations, education policy and governance. Working as part of the National Bureau, he is based in New Delhi and reports on the Ministry of Education and covers various statutory bodies like UGC, AICTE and NCTE and autonomous bodies like CBSE and NCERT. His reporting also tracks the implementation of key government reforms and policies from school education to higher education including in IITs, NITs, IIMs, central and state universities, and their impact on students and educational institutions. His reporting on the irregularities and rushed implementation of CBSE's On-Screen Marking (OSM) system for evaluation of Class 12 board exams 2026, triggered administrative action, leading to the transfer of the board's two senior-most officials and the constitution of a committee to probe alleged irregularities in procurement process of the system. He joined Hindustan Times in December 2024. Prior to that, he had a three-year stint at Careers360, where he reported on school and higher education, entrance examinations, admissions, rankings and various education policies involving universities and professional education bodies. Over the years, Maurya has reported extensively on major developments in India's education sector, including the implementation of the National Education Policy (NEP) 2020, reforms in the National Testing Agency (NTA) following the NEET-UG 2024 controversy, changes in school education, higher education regulation, and the evolution of entrance examinations such as NEET, JEE and CUET. He regularly produces data-driven and explanatory stories based on government documents, parliamentary proceedings, court records and official data. His focus remains on helping readers understand how education policies and institutional decisions affect millions of students, teachers and educational institutions across the country.Read More

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