Sheikh Hamdan & Dharmendra Pradhan inaugurate IIM Ahmedabad’s first international campus in Dubai

Sheikh Hamdan bin Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Crown Prince of Dubai, together with Dharmendra Pradhan, India’s Union Minister of Education, inaugurated the first international campus of the Indian Institute of Management Ahmedabad (IIMA) at Dubai International Academic City.
 
 
The ceremony was attended by senior UAE ministers, including Mohammed bin Abdullah Al Gergawi, Minister of Cabinet Affairs; Reem bint Ebrahim Al Hashimy, Minister of State for International Cooperation; and Sara bint Yousef Al Amiri, Minister of Education. Sunjay Sudhir, Ambassador of India to the UAE, and Satish Kumar Sivan, Consul General of India in Dubai, joined the event along with IIMA officials.
 
 
Sheikh Hamdan welcomed IIMA to Dubai, describing its arrival as a symbol of deepening UAE-India collaboration and a step aligned with Dubai’s ambitions to become a leading global hub for education and talent. He said Dubai, guided by the vision of Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, is rapidly emerging as a centre of innovation and entrepreneurship, supported by initiatives such as the Dubai Economic Agenda D33 and the Education 33 Strategy. Union Minister Dharmendra Pradhan called the inauguration “a milestone in the globalisation of India’s education” and said the Dubai campus reflects IIMA’s ethos of being “Indian in spirit, global in outlook.”
 
 
The Dubai campus will be developed in two phases. Initially, IIMA will operate out of Dubai International Academic City, offering students access to advanced learning facilities in a multicultural setting. By 2029, a permanent campus will be established on land allocated for the institute. Officials noted that the establishment of IIMA Dubai has been made possible through the joint vision of the leadership of India and Dubai, expanding IIMA’s global presence in management education.
 
 
IIMA Dubai launched operations with a full-time one-year MBA programme, structured across five terms. The course is designed for working professionals and entrepreneurs seeking advanced management expertise and international exposure. The first cohort comprises 35 students from sectors including banking, consulting, information technology, healthcare, and manufacturing.
 
 
In its first year, IIMA Dubai will also establish two centres of excellence, one focused on case writing and development, and the other on start-up incubation. Additional programmes will be introduced in the coming years, reinforcing the institute’s role in shaping future-ready leaders for global markets.