The Ministry of Higher Education and Scientific Research has announced that the Cabinet has approved a resolution on study scholarships and financial allocations for scholarship recipients, in a step that represents a qualitative shift in the national scholarship system and supports the country's efforts to prepare qualified national talent equipped with the knowledge, skills, and expertise needed to lead priority economic sectors and future fields.
The new resolution comes within an integrated framework that reflects the Ministry of Higher Education and Scientific Research's efforts to develop the scholarship system in the United Arab Emirates, ensuring greater efficiency in investing in national human capital, building a more sustainable and flexible system that responds to global changes and future requirements, and directing educational investments towards priority national specialisations and skills, thereby contributing to the preparation of national talent capable of leading future economic sectors.
The resolution establishes a comprehensive governance framework for the scholarship programme by organising its various stages, starting from eligibility and admission criteria, through the selection of host countries, universities, and specialisations, and extending to monitoring, evaluation, and outcome measurement mechanisms.
It also reinforces the guidance of scholarship students towards priority specialisations linked to labour market needs and future economic sectors, supporting the programme's sustainability and enhancing its contribution to the national development journey, while ensuring that government investments in scholarships are directed towards the areas with the greatest impact on building a knowledge economy.
The resolution includes a comprehensive package of financial, academic, and social benefits designed to support scholarship students, enabling them to focus on their academic achievement and attain the best academic results.
These benefits include monthly allowances, priority-specialisation supplements, tuition fees, airfare, health insurance, study preparation and graduation allowances, and academic excellence awards, in addition to a number of benefits supporting scholarship recipients and their families, including the addition of health insurance for the spouse accompanying a married scholarship recipient.
Among the improvements contained in the resolution is an increase in the study preparation and settlement allowance to 30,000 dirhams, alongside an expansion of certain benefits related to healthcare and living support, enhancing the quality of the scholarship experience and providing a more stable environment for students throughout their academic journey.
The updated scholarship system was developed following an extensive study that drew on the views of sponsoring entities in the country, current scholarship students, and candidates for scholarships, as well as a review of best practices and relevant experiences, ensuring that the system responds to the actual needs of students and keeps pace with global developments in the field of scholarships and international education.
The scholarship programme currently serves approximately 500 male and female students enrolled in bachelor's, master's, and doctoral programmes at a number of prestigious universities around the world. The resolution comes in parallel with the Ministry's efforts to strengthen the link between the programme and the needs of the national economy; during recent months, the Ministry has concluded cooperation agreements with more than 10 national institutions representing priority economic sectors, with the aim of supporting the employment of scholarship graduates and ensuring that academic specialisations are aligned with the actual needs of the labour market.