Dubai International Academic City (DIAC) has announced a new 70,000 sq ft campus for one of its partner universities, Amity University.

DIAC, who first introduced Amity to the region in 2011, will be working closely with the university over the next 18 months to migrate its faculty and students from its current location at DIAC, to its own newly appointed campus on Academic City Road.

The new premises will accommodate a total of 5,000 students at full capacity and will be the largest academic development in DIAC, a statement said.

The news of Amity’s expansion follows a reported 24 per cent growth across both Dubai International Academic City and Dubai Knowledge Village, announced earlier this week. An additional 80 HR and education institutes signed up to the business parks throughout 2012, up from 61 new partners in 2011, bringing the total to 564 across both business parks.

Dr Ayoub Kazim, managing director of DIAC, said: “It is good to see Amity making such a significant commitment by building its own campus - we would encourage our other universities to do the same. Amity’s expansion is just further proof that DIAC is achieving its goal of becoming the region’s leading education hub.

“Our focus is not just on growth, however. We will continue to work closely with our universities to ensure that the high quality of education is maintained and that the types of courses on offer cater to the demands of the local industry.”

Amity’s announcement was made during the ongoing Getex (Gulf Education and Training Exhibition), where DIAC has arranged a series of student-lead panel discussions to discuss career choices, course selection and Dubai as a destination for education. Almost 35,000 students attended the event in 2012, and organisers are expecting a similar number this year.

Chancellor Atul Chauhan of Amity University said: “Our non-profit Amity Foundation is committed to establishing a world-class research driven University in Dubai. Investing in the campus at DIAC is a testament to Amity's long-term commitment to the Emirates which will closely align with the vision of the Rulers to conduct research and provide education in cutting-edge areas for the benefit of all.”

Vajahat Hussain, senior vice president of Amity Middle East said: “Thanks to DIAC’s exceptional support and rigorous quality standards, we managed to set the bar high from the very beginning. Our new campus will go one step further, as it will feature state-of-the-art classrooms, labs and a library equipped with the latest multimedia and audio-visual equipment to facilitate effective learning and promote maximum interaction between the faculty and the students.

“Research will play a more significant role in our new campus as we endeavour to create a centre of excellence for the research community.

“We very much look forward to continuing our work with DIAC to help them achieve their goal of developing the region’s talent pool and establishing the UAE as a knowledge-based economy,” Hussain added.

Amity University is one of India's leading education institutions with 100,000 students in 9 international campuses located across North America, Europe and Asia. The university in Dubai currently offers 26 programmes that cover niche sectors such as Aerospace, Nuclear Science, Solar and Alternate Energy and Entrepreneurship, among others. – TradeArabia News Service