‘My Gulf University’ – Towards an HE area in the Arab Gulf

A unified digital platform for Arab Gulf universities, which enables Gulf and other international applications for university places, has been launched as part of the strategic plan of the Committee of the Ministers of Higher Education and Scientific Research in the six countries of the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC).

Developed and hosted by the Ministry of Education and Higher Education in Qatar, the new digital platform “My Gulf University”, which connects over 40 universities and institutions of higher education and scientific research in the Arab Gulf region, was launched at the 24th Meeting of the Ministers of Higher Education and Scientific Research in the GCC that was held in Qatar on 4 June.

The strategic plan outlined in an earlier meeting in September 2023 included several supportive initiatives to the joint Gulf Action.

These included preparing a unified vision of international cooperation between the GCC States and the developed world, establishing the GCC Centre for Scientific Research and Innovation and setting up the Joint GCC Fund for Scientific Research, Innovation and Academic Programmes.

In addition, several other digital transformation projects were tabled. These include building alliances in the field of cybersecurity and information security in higher education, as well as exchanging expertise and successful experiences in artificial intelligence and educational technology along with collaboration in achieving Goal 4 of the UN Sustainable Development Goals (quality of education).

During the meeting, Qatar’s Minister of Education and Higher Education, Buthaina bint Ali Al Jabr Al Nuaimi, said: “These topics reflect the GCC countries’ keenness to develop the higher education and scientific research system, invest in innovation to advance the wheel of progress and development, achieve excellence for their universities at the global level, and enhance international cooperation to enrich scientific and humanitarian research and student scholarships”.

Al Nuaimi added: “GCC countries must constantly think about the suitability of their educational systems to the needs of today and tomorrow, focus on strengthening their educational systems to meet future challenges, develop the educational and moral values of young people, determine the skills required for the future work market, and develop effective and innovative educational policies to support achieving the goals of the 2030 sustainable development plan.”

The digital platform: ‘My Gulf University’

The digital platform includes study on a GCC platform which allows all students in the Arab Gulf countries and students from most parts of the world to apply for admission to Gulf universities according to the admission conditions for each university, in addition to displaying the scholarships available internally and externally, their conditions and ways to apply for them.

The platform also presents statistical data about higher education and scientific research in the Arab Gulf countries which is collated from 40 public universities and three scientific research institutions. For example, the total number of students in GCC higher education is 2,200,000 out of which 76.2% are in governmental institutions, 17.6 in the private institutions and 6.2% study abroad.

It also includes the Gulf Network for Quality Assurance in Higher Education (GNQAHE) hub, and a digital library which includes the unified Arab Gulf guidelines of issues-related to higher education along with recommendations of workshops about higher education, science, technology and innovation in GCC countries.

GNQAHE focuses on disseminating knowledge and promoting the culture of quality higher education at the Arab Gulf level through setting up education, training, awareness and consultation programmes in quality assurance and accreditation.

GNQAH also works on strengthening partnerships at the regional and international levels with similar organisations, as well as encouraging field research and studies to measure the impact of applying quality standards on the outcomes of higher education institutions and the extent of their compatibility with the requirements of the labour market in the GCC countries.

In addition, it includes the Gulf Information Base (Jisr) which is a project that serves scientific research and academic work in the field of higher education at the level of the GCC countries and includes four main databases: a database of scientific and research bodies, which includes the names of universities, higher education institutions, and national research centres in the participating GCC countries; a database of experts and specialists, which contains the names of researchers and academics in the research field; a research database, which includes university theses, conference papers, journal papers, books, reports; and a research correspondence and scientific instrument database.

Furthermore, it includes a future skills platform which is a knowledge platform that aims to build and empower the people of the GCC countries in universities and higher education institutions by developing their capabilities and raising their skills according to the needs of the labour market by providing awareness, educational, scientific and skills content through visual, audio and print programs, to enhance the future skills of GCC students.

Besides the launching of the digital platform, several other documents were adopted during the ministerial meeting including a guide to blended learning, the general framework for academic mobility in higher education, the Gulf reference framework for educational qualifications in the Arab Gulf Countries and organising the Gulf cyber-security forum under the theme “Building capacities and competencies in educational cyber-security” in Qatar in October 2024.

Towards an Arabian Gulf Area for higher education

Higher education expert, Magdi Tawfik Abdelhamid, a professor at Cairo’s National Research Centre, welcomed the new higher education initiatives.

“The new higher education Arab Gulf initiatives including the digital platform ‘My Gulf University’ along with other projects including digital transformation initiatives, scientific regional research centres, regional fund and unified guidelines, will facilitate the harmonisation of higher education systems, scientific research and target regional needs aimed at developing knowledge-based economies, help in promoting academic excellence, achieving the best quality standards in higher education, enhancing pan-GCC cooperation and integration in academic accreditation and increasing academic and research mobility among the GCC countries,” Abdelhamid told University World News.

“These initiatives, in turn, will put the foundation and the first steps in the rocky road for establishing a unified Arabian Gulf area for higher education (UAGAHE) aimed at strengthening cooperation between institutions in the region and galvanising their contributions towards the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs),” he noted.

Abdelhamid’s view is supported by a March 2024 study titled Harmonization of Higher Education for Sustainable Development: Southern Africa Development Community Experiences which argues that higher education harmonisation contributes positively towards achieving the SDGs.

To develop UAGAHE further, Abdelhamid stressed that “Arab Gulf countries need to focus on creating structures and mechanisms to help harmonise higher education systems, and to institutionalise cooperation and facilitate the mobility of students and staff between Arab Gulf universities as well as supporting the homogenisation of curricula in the Arab Gulf higher education institutions and gradually make degree and quality assurance standards compatible across the region.”

Abdelhamid explained: “UAGAHE would help to support, enhance and consolidate reform climates in higher education institutions in Arab Gulf countries and provide solutions to many of the difficulties facing Arab Gulf universities and its associated scientific research centres.”