"EduHubMig project ran from January 2017 until September 2020. This project's work was organised into several connected stages: a preparatory secondary data and literature review stage; a fieldwork-focused stage in the UAE; and an analysis and dissemination stage. For the fieldwork in the UAE, the Fellow greatly benefited from her local affiliation with Zayed University and the collaboration of the international universities that agreed to participate in the study. The collected data provide insights into the perspectives of students, alumni, staff and other stakeholders engaged in transnational education. This allowed her to better understand the ways in which cross-border education is promoted, practised and experienced.
The findings from this project suggest that the number of internationally mobile students in the UAE is lower than reported in international statistics. Like many other countries, the Emirati statistics continue to identify international students solely based on citizenship. This means that non-Emirati students, who are part of the country's very large migrant community and decide to study locally, are included in the data. Nevertheless, international students still represent a substantial and growing share of the student body at the branch campuses in the UAE. The profile of the international students is varied, and it includes citizens from other Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) or Arab countries, Europe, non-Arab Asian countries and Sub-Saharan Africa, amongst other regions. A considerable number of students are second-generation expats of South Asian or European origin who grew up in neighbouring GCC countries.
Following their studies, the alumni interviewed for this project encountered many barriers to enter the Emirati labour market and re-new their residence visa, which also structured their complex mobility patterns after graduation. In this regard, the 'kafala' system for temporary sponsored visas appears to be particularly at odds with the Emirati government's 'Vision 2021' to ""attract and retain"" talented individuals. However, in 2018 the UAE introduced longer post-study visas, which have somewhat eased graduates' transition into labour market and also position the country as a more competitive study destination.
The Fellow gave presentations and invited lectures about the project's findings at over twenty international conferences and seminars. She also had the opportunity to share EduHubMig results with students at Utrecht University as part of several guest lectures. Besides, the Fellow co-organised public events, such as workshops, conference panels and roundtables in the Middle East and Europe, bringing together practitioners, research scholars and students. During the project, the Fellow prepared a range of publications, including several journal articles, one book chapter and one co-edited volume. Moreover, the data collected during this project will inform and enhance additional publications in the coming years."
