Dubai International Academic City (DIAC), the region's leading destination of higher education and a member of TECOM Investments, today announced its capabilities to capitalise on the prolific growth of online education that the region is currently witnessing.
DIAC offers a range of online education programmes through some of the world's most prestigious universities such as The University of Exeter, UK; University of Phoenix, US; Manchester Business School, US, and JSS Mahavidyapeetha, India and Universitas 21 Global, Singapore.
Dr Ayoub Kazim, Executive Director, Dubai International Academic City and Dubai Knowledge Village, said:
'The earlier perception that online and distance learning programmes do not find favour with the academic community at large is being quickly outmoded with the concept taking a steady foothold in the educational system over the past 20 years. Widely recognized by the educational community and international bodies worldwide, distance learning is in many ways a welcome phenomenon as it holds enormous promise for enriching education.'
The global growth of e-learning is significant across the board and according to figures in a recent US study titled Online Nation: Five Years of Growth in Online Learning by the Sloan Consortium, online enrolments achieved a 9.7% growth rate compared to 1.5% growth of the overall higher education student population.
The Internet World Stats forecasts the Middle East is poised to greatly benefit from this strong growth with an estimate 41,939,200 internet users in the region and a phenomenal growth rate of 1,176.8% in the past eight years, while the Arab Advisors Group states the UAE is at the centre of this growth and acknowledged as the most wired country in the Arab world.
DIAC currently hosts more than 25 reputed international universities of higher learning from diverse regions, including the US, the UK, Belgium, Iran, Russia, Australia, Sri Lanka, France, Pakistan and India - all catering to the academic requirements of over 10,000 students.