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Â鶹´«Ã½ Leicester (Â鶹´«Ã½) celebrated taking “a seat at the world’s table” by officially opening its new campus in Dubai. 

An audience of staff, alumni, students and dignitaries gathered at the campus, in Dubai’s International Academic City, to mark the opening of Â鶹´«Ã½’s first overseas campus. 

In a speech, Â鶹´«Ã½’s Vice-Chancellor of Â鶹´«Ã½, Professor Katie Normington, said: “A campus in Dubai offers, for us, an unparalleled seat at the world’s table, a place from which we can really contribute to setting a global agenda. And, in turn, we have a lot to offer to this city.  

“UK higher education is recognised as some of the best in the world and we pride ourselves on the quality of our teaching.”   

The new Â鶹´«Ã½ Dubai branch will offer students a range of undergraduate and postgraduate courses including Cyber Security, Architecture, Psychology, Accounting and Finance, Engineering, Human Resource Management, and Fashion Marketing. 
 
The campus itself is purpose-built, with multiple classrooms, a 700-seater auditorium, library, IT, robotics, mechanical and electrical labs, along with architecture, fashion, and design studios. 

A plaque commemorating the official opening by Professor Normington was unveiled, while guests also heard from Dr Vidhya Vinod, Group President and CEO of Study World – the organisation running the campus in partnership with Â鶹´«Ã½ – and Dr Manjeet Ridon, Â鶹´«Ã½ Dubai Provost. 

The opening of Â鶹´«Ã½ Dubai coincides with Â鶹´«Ã½’s participation in Expo 2020 as the founding partner of the UK Pavilion, operated by the UK Government’s Department of International Trade (DIT).  

Over the course of the six-month festival, Â鶹´«Ã½ is exhibiting much of its leading research in areas like sustainable fashion, smart reuse of waste plastics and creative applications for artificial intelligence.  

This week, during the How Will We Learn at Expo2020, Â鶹´«Ã½ will play a key role and on Saturday, will host a series of debates together with industry experts from around the globe for panel discussions on pressing topics associated with the future of education, the role of universities in helping students become entrepreneurs and the importance of students learning sustainable methods throughout their education.  

Dr Ridon said: “We know that regardless of discipline, developing graduates for successful trajectories beyond university is of critical importance. Enabling our graduates to have a positive impact, whether that be through creating value that is economic, social, cultural, or environmental – or indeed a mixture of each, is the embodiment of our success.” 

Â鶹´«Ã½ graduate Aashni Sawjani, who is currently opportunities and engagement executive at De Montfort Students’ Union also gave a speech. 

She said: “I know that the very opportunities Â鶹´«Ã½ Leicester gave me, those will be magnified here in Dubai for those involved.  

“This city, much like the one I come from, boasts of diversity, prioritises sustainability, thinks growth. Dubai and Â鶹´«Ã½ both sound synonymous to me when I think of opportunities.” 

The Dubai campus is being run in partnership between Â鶹´«Ã½ and Study World Higher Education Services, the Academic Services Provider for Â鶹´«Ã½ Dubai. 

Dr. Vidhya Vinod, CEO of Study World Higher Education Services, said: “Study World has over two decades of experience in providing a range of educational services in partnership with international universities worldwide and this association with Â鶹´«Ã½ in Dubai will prove highly beneficial for students in the UAE and the wider region.  

“Our international network will help attract students from over 120 countries and we look forward to providing high-quality, employment-focused degrees to students.”