Middle East and North Africa

A new era of scientific, medical, and tech innovation is here. IIE is working with leaders and organizations to harness the opportunities they offer to the region and the world.

A trusted partner, respected research leader, and pioneer of international educational exchange, IIE delivers expert services to a range of sponsors and partners throughout the MENA region. By leveraging our deep experience, extensive global networks, and diverse programs, we connect the brightest students, scholars, and professionals to the world’s leading higher education, research, and training programs. Our partnerships with corporations, governments, ministries, foundations, and global universities power 200 cutting-edge programs in more than 180 countries.

IIE has been engaging with higher education in the MENA region for nearly 30 years. Today, we administer initiatives in more than 15 countries, including Algeria, Bahrain, Egypt, Iraq, Israel, Jordan, Kuwait, Lebanon, Libya, Morocco, Oman, Palestinian Territories, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Tunisia, the United Arab Emirates, and Yemen.

Building on its extensive networks, experience, and programs around the globe, IIE has developed a strong set of services for the MENA region. Program offerings are wide-ranging and serve a variety of development needs in the region. IIE is currently working on initiatives in a diversity of program areas in more than 13 countries in the region, including Bahrain, Egypt, Iraq, Jordan, Kuwait, Lebanon, Libya, Morocco, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, the UAE, Tunisia, and Yemen.

Featured Programs & Reports

NYU Abu Dhabi

KGSP

WISE-IIE Report

Services & Partnerships

Global Outreach and Recruitment

IIE matches top students with competitive universities, convenes scholars for collaborative research initiatives, and assists businesses with identifying global talent for short and long-term study programs around the world.

Related Programs

NYU Abu Dhabi: Since 2009, IIE has partnered with New York University to identify academically talented, globally diverse students to attend NYU Abu Dhabi.

Scholarship and Fellowship Management

IIE specializes in managing the most innovative and prestigious undergraduate and graduate scholarships around the world, including in the Middle East and North Africa.

Related Programs

Scholar and Professional Exchange

Related Programs

Training and Capacity Building

IIE works across the public and private sectors to design and implement programs for the future. This includes the administration of innovative research, technical assistance, and professional training initiatives.

Related Programs

Education & Training Programs: IIE partners with Saudi Arabia’s Heritage Commission to deliver tailored education and training programs that strengthen cultural heritage expertise and foster knowledge-sharing and partnership with American universities and cultural institutions.
Cultural Heritage Research: IIE supports building capacity for cultural heritage research in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia through a suite of capacity-building programs.

Higher Education Partnerships

IIE’s global network of 1,600+ universities drives policy research, educational exchange, and best-practice forums to support MENA region university stakeholders’ strategic institutional development plans.

Related Programs

US-Saudi Academic Partnership Program

Research, Evaluation, and Learning

IIE has conducted research on global academic mobility trends for more than 100 years. IIE’s REL division also partners with foundations in the Middle East to lead research initiatives and studies.

Related Projects

Project Atlas ®: IIE serves as the Secretariat for the Project Atlas ® global research initiative, partnering with more than 30 countries to collect and disseminate comparable student mobility data. Qatar Foundation’s WISE: IIE partnered with the Qatar Foundation’s World Innovation Summit for Education (WISE) to:
produce the Global Competition for Talent: A Comparative Analysis of National Strategies for Attracting International Students, and
establish an international research consortium with seven universities worldwide to study the role of AI in higher education.
Abdulla Al Ghurair Foundation (AGF) Retrospective Evaluation: In 2002, IIE conducted a retrospective evaluation to (1) inform AGF and its programming partners of the extent to which AGF is creating impact in the education ecosystem in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and the Arab World and (2) assess the effectiveness and efficiency of AGF’s programs and operations. The evaluation culminated in a final report and workshop, held in Dubai, where IIE presented the findings and recommendations to AGF leadership.