Internships, Seed Funding: How UAE Universities Make Students Job-Ready

(MENAFN- Khaleej Times)

Universities across the UAE are ramping up efforts to ensure students are not only academically proficient but also career-ready.

Through hands-on experiences, mentorship, and industry collaboration, institutions are bridging the gap between classroom learning and real-world application.

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Academicians highlighted that the evolving job market also demands digital literacy and continuous learning to equip graduates for future careers.

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Turning ideas into impactful ventures

“The CUD Hub Incubator plays a vital role in this journey. It provides a collaborative environment where students transform ideas into impactful ventures, supported by mentorship, seed funding, and access to industry networks. Through this platform, students gain hands-on experience in entrepreneurship and innovation, while learning to align their business solutions with global priorities such as the SDGs,” said Dr Rami El Khatib, Vice President-Student Affairs, Canadian University Dubai (CUD).

Beyond the incubator, Canadian University Dubai partners with organisations including GMG, Majid Al Futtaim Properties, Kalvad, Osborne Engineering, and ImInclusive.“Through these collaborations, our students and faculty engage in practical, real-time projects that often take the form of competitions, market research, or tailored solutions for industry challenges.”

Internships and networking opportunities are central to CUD's approach.“Our internship programme provides students with hands-on experience across diverse sectors, supported by professional networking opportunities through flagship events such as the 'Career Fair' and the 'Employer's Caravan'. We further extend these connections through initiatives like coffee chats and site visits, which allow students to engage directly with professionals in their fields of interest,” El Khatib added.

Global mentorship and graduate tracking

CUD's Entrepreneurial Mentorship Programme also connects students with CEOs and business leaders worldwide.“This initiative provides invaluable mentorship, fosters cross-border knowledge exchange, and equips students with unique insights into leadership, strategy, and innovation at the highest levels of business.”

To monitor outcomes, the university collaborates with the Ministry of Higher Education and Scientific Research through a Graduate Destination Survey, tracking alumni nine months after graduation to understand employment trends and further studies.

Industry-integrated learning

Dr Anita Patankar, Executive Director of Symbiosis Dubai, emphasised the importance of real-world exposure.“We recognise that meaningful industry exposure is key to building career-ready graduates. Symbiosis Dubai has built strong collaborations with leading companies, including Godrej Properties, Sobha Realty, Jumeirah Group, DP World, Dubai Police, CAFU, Cisco, Sony, Odoo, Behaviour Enrichment, Edu Scan, Ednex, among others.”

Symbiosis Dubai leverages initiatives such as 'Symbi Connects', which allows senior industry leaders to share insights, and 'Symbi Inspires', connecting students with over 1,300 UAE alumni for mentorship. Patankar added,“Hands-on projects, multidisciplinary workshops, global immersion opportunities, and enriching internships ensure that learning extends far beyond the classroom... For example, two of our MBA students quit well-paying jobs and internships to launch their own media agency - a startup born from Symbiosis Dubai in just one year.”

The university's approach has yielded tangible results,“including a 98 per cent internship placement rate this year”, reflecting how industry-integrated learning and mentorship prepare students for success.

Shaping global leaders

INSEAD recently launched its Master in Finance (MIF), a pre-experience degree for recent graduates and young professionals.

Mark Stabile, Dean of Degree Programmes, said,“The skills that set professionals apart are evolving. It's no longer enough to be technically competent - future leaders must also be globally fluent, analytically sharp and able to adapt quickly to change. Finance today requires more than just technical expertise, it demands leadership, resilience and a global mindset.”

The MIF programme is designed to meet market demand while shaping globally aware and agile financial professionals ready to make an impact from day one.

Experiential learning at the core

At BITS Pilani Dubai, the Practice School (PS) Division is central to student employability.

Dr Gomathi Bhavani R, Associate Dean - Practice School and Industry Engagement, said,“Our Career Services Division complements this by offering career counselling and coaching, hosting industry experts, and arranging workshops in leadership, communication, and professional behaviour. These initiatives facilitate networking between employers and graduates - an essential factor in enhancing employability in the UAE context.”

The Practice School offers two tiers of internships:

• PS I: An eight-week summer internship after the second year of undergraduate study.

• PS II: A full-semester (5.5 months) internship in the final year.

Through this program, BITS Pilani Dubai collaborates with more than 300 industry partners across sectors including government, aviation, logistics, consulting, banking, healthcare, hospitality, engineering, and manufacturing.

“Besides, we have established mechanisms to regularly gather both formal and informal feedback from industry partners and alumni after each internship and employment cycle. This continuous exchange allows us to refine and enhance the skill sets of future cohorts,” added Bhavani.

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