French institutions have not been forgotten

The Gulf Persian, new land of conquest for higher education and education in General After Asia and, to a lesser extent, Latin America, initiatives multiply in this part of the world. One after the other, the countries of the region announced the construction of new campuses, sign agreements with renowned universities, organize seminars and exhibitions dedicated to the training. With billions of dollars in gas and oil, all seem determined to invest in knowledge.

The Qatar is, undoubtedly, one of the most committed in this strategy. The Emirate was built for three years, at the gates of Doha, a sumptuous 1,400 hectares campus, called "Education City", which houses six American universities. For their part, several large groups, among which EADS, ExxonMobil, Microsoft, Cisco and Total, are planning to invest 225 million applied research. The Qatar has for its part to organize the "World International Summit for Education", with the participation of a thousand experts and leaders of opinion from all walks of life.

The other Emirates are also mobilizing. Dubai home for several years the Getex, one of the most important international fairs devoted to education and employment of graduates. A Bahrain comes to the first edition of "the education Project", an annual event to "advance the quality of education around the world".Cass Business School, with an Executive MBA, and Oxford are also present in the Gulf.

Giant Campus

Several reasons explain this trend. First, the United Arab Emirates saw an excellent investment for colossal oil revenues. "Invest in education is the most promising choices in terms of human development and economic progress," said the Emir of the Qatar, Sheikh Hamad bin-Khalifa al-Thani, which aims to establish, on the horizon of 20 years, a "knowledge economy" among the most advanced in the world. UAE officials dream of attracting students from the Middle East, the India, Pakistan, Africa... and even Europe.

Then, the Gulf countries are starved of skilled, that they must import. "All want to educate their population and their expatriates," observes Brigitte Fournier, Director of the Agency black on white, who has conducted a study on the region. The authorities have seen great things and built giant campus, but struggling to fill. Are they sand castles The crisis in Dubai may suggest the, but it is still too early to decide.

Meanwhile, foreign institutions see their presence in the Gulf a means to develop their international reputation and strengthen their financial resources - often with the support of industry, attracted by the oil and gas deposits. "Our activity in the heart of the City of London has allowed us to develop expertise in finance, strategy, import-export and in real estate development," said Roy Batechelor, Director of the Cass Emba to Dubai." These are precisely the skills including Dubai needs today.

French institutions have not been forgotten. The Sorbonne gave the signal, in settling in Abu Dhabi in 2006. A contested arrival, because the agreement would prohibit Paris-I, also interested to use the name "Sorbonne" in the region. Insead is also present. Epitech (Group Ionis), school of computer science, has an agreement to trade with the Ahlia University, to the Bahrain. Others are in the back: the University Lyon-II plans to settle in the Gulf, with the Louis Lumière school. EM Lyon should open a campus. CET would be advanced with the Qatar talks to provide training for leaders. The school of Saint-Cyr-Coëtquidan should also take foot in the Qatar to form, as from 2011, high-level military and civilian officials.