Comparative Analysis of International Education Hubs in the Persian Gulf Region

This paper aimed to study "international education hubs" as the latest generation of internationalization abroad or cross-border strategy. This study had a qualitative approach with a documentary methodology and a critical purposive sampling including four countries of Qatar, UAE, Bahrain and Iran stipulated this policy in their national policy documents.

The components studied in this research comprised of “date of establishment”, “regulations and policies”,"planning and implementation strategies","driving rationales" and "investment approach".The data collected from documents, reports and papers containing the required information on education hubs strategy in the sample countries.For data analysis, Bereday’s comparative method has been adopted.

The data analysis results indicated that although, the policy of establishing an education hub has been implied in Iran’s national policy documents years before, Gulf countries have adopted an active and strategic approach in planning and implementation phases of shaping an international education hub. Bahrain has stipulated in it’s policy documents to be an international innovation hub as well as an international student hub. Moreover, Qatar has planned to be a talent hub alongwith an innovation hub and U.A.E has planned to be an international student hub as well as a talent hub. On the other hand, Iran's higher education system has planned to become a "virtual education hub" which is a new type within the existing hubs in the Pesian Gulf region. Investment and financial resources for establishment of an education hub was different in the studied Arab higher education systems from those of Iran’s higher education system. In UAE, Bahrain and Qatar, the financial resources are from internal-public, internal-private and international-private sources while, in Iran the financial resources are from internal-public, internal-private and international-public sources. The policy recommendation for Iran higher education system is first prioritizing implementation of "internationalization at home” strategy the core of which is “internationalization of curriculm” and then developing the strategy of internationalization abroad and turning into an international education hub.