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With expats constituting the vast majority of Dubai residents, the Education sector is truly international, with primary and secondary curricula tailored to individual nationalities and their home syllabus. Many of the universities in Dubai are affiliated with some of the best educational institutes in the world, including the United States, the UK, Canada, Australia, India, Pakistan, France, Ireland, Iran and many more.

A recent study by Booze & Co projected that by 2020, Dubai and Abu Dhabi will experience a 54% increase in student enrolment in a market that will be worth more than AED 14 billion. And speaking in March 2012, Dr. Abdullah Al Karam, Director-General of the Knowledge and Human Development Authority, the regulatory authority for education in Dubai said: "The future of education relies on the private sector... we are encouraging schools to be in the business of educating their students."

Reliance on that strategy falls squarely on the shoulders of foreign educators and foreign investors.​