Saudi, Emirati universities rank among best in region

As education across the world experiences massive revamping to keep up with technological changes, universities in Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates are leading the Gulf in the field, writes Caline Malek for The Arab Weekly.

King Abdulaziz University in Saudi Arabia, ranking in the second tier (201-250), topped universities in Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) countries in ‘World University Rankings 2018’, which was compiled by Times Higher Education and includes 1,102 universities from 77 countries. It was followed by Khalifa University (301-350) in the United Arab Emirates, Qatar University (401-500), the United Arab Emirates University (501-600) and Alfaisal University (501-600) in Riyadh in Saudi Arabia.

Educational experts said the rankings are crucial for GCC countries because they give external validation of higher education institutions. “They provide governments with good arguments for their people to attend local universities rather than travelling abroad,” said Natasha Ridge, executive director at the Sheikh Saud bin Saqr al-Qasimi Foundation for Policy Research in Ras Al Khaimah in the UAE.
Full report on The Arab Weekly site