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UAE: Creative industry witnesses rising enrolments as international design schools open up this September

Graduates from these disciplines go on to work for leading brands and often find themselves at international competitions

Design schools in the UAE are witnessing an uptick in enrolment with foreign institutions connected to the creative industry making their inaugural inroads into the country this September.

A new Master's in Visual and Experience Design is being introduced this fall by the University of Europe for Applied Sciences (UE) which is preparing to launch its first-ever campus in Dubai.

Situated at One Central, the UE campus in Dubai combines two distinct influences — the renowned German Bauhaus movement and the unique cultural backdrop of the Middle East.

Experts explain students acquire valuable insights into cross-cultural and multidisciplinary concepts and principles, along with understanding how to effectively convey these in professional environments.

Roy Lavian, head of Real Estate of UE Dubai Campus, said, "The UE Dubai campus harmoniously blends form, flow, and function and embodies the spirit of Bauhaus philosophy, which sought to revolutionise architectural principles and transform spaces with a seamless integration of craftsmanship, technology, art, and industry.”

Viable career option

Sophie Johnson, assistant professor of Interior Design at Canadian University Dubai, for her part, noted: “There has been a steady rise in interior design courses and student numbers since Covid ended. There is a healthy competition for interior design degrees across the UAE, which was not the case when I arrived over a decade ago. Interior education has really improved and students can go onto globally recognised master's programmes.

“Students come to the UAE to study interior design as once graduated it offers opportunities in fantastic homegrown, have and international firms. Interior design has always been strong in this region, particularly in Dubai. Interiors here is really about an experience and as we spend a lot of time inside, this is a buoyant industry,” she added.

Graduates from these disciplines go on to work for leading brands and often find themselves at international competitions with their sustainable design practices.

Increase in students

Professor Tenia Kyriazi, deputy director Academic Operations, Middlesex University Dubai, said: “We have seen a significant rise in recent years in those interested in a career in the creative industries, and as these industries themselves has grown across the UAE and wider region, so have the number of young people seeing them as a viable career option. We have also seen an increase in the number of students joining our School of Design since the courses were established. Our BA Honours Fashion Design was initiated in 2019 and has very quickly established itself among the leading design programmes in the MENA region."

"This has resulted in us expanding our campus facilities for these programmes and continuing to enhance our educational labs so that our lecturers can continue to teach the latest industry skills," added Kyriazi.

Last September, Istituto Marangoni, one of the world’s leading fashion and design schools, opened its campus at the Dubai International Financial District. The boutique fashion school aimed to blend an innovative learning experience with Italian expertise to shape the future of the UAE's fashion and design industry.

“We now want to support the growth and development of the UAE fashion, design and creative industry by educating a new generation of local talents,” Roberto La Iacona, School Director of Istituto Marangoni Dubai said earlier.

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