United Arab Emirates' education hub: A decade of development

Abstract

After experiencing the Asian financial crisis in 1998 and the 2008 global economic downturn, the Government of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (HKSAR) realized that depending upon the traditional economic pillars (i.e., international finance, tourism, property market, and logistics) would not sufficiently sustain continual economic growth in the city-state. Recognizing that trade in higher education services is becoming increasingly popular in Asia, and that higher education is an effective soft power tool, the HKSAR government has worked on developing itself as a regional education hub by making education services one of the new economic driving forces. This chapter critically reviews the policy context for the regional education hub project initiated in Hong Kong and discusses key drivers and rationales, major actors, and stakeholders involved in the hub initiative. The chapter examines regulations and policies governing the hub project and discusses the challenges and barriers for making the quest for the regional hub status a sustainable project.