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Three of Abu Dhabi¡¯s leading higher education institutions are to merge, in a bid to boost the emirate¡¯s research profile.

Science-focused Khalifa University will be amalgamated with the Masdar Institute, which focuses on energy and sustainability technology, and the Petroleum Institute, Abu Dhabi¡¯s executive council ruled.

Hussain Al Hammadi, the country¡¯s education minister, said that the merger would be ¡°the catalyst for us in our race to propel institutions to achieve highest levels of research¡±, . Mr Al Hammadi said that the United Arab Emirates currently had a ¡°weakness in terms of research¡±.

¡°We need to provide these institutions with all the support they need so we can achieve a knowledge-based economy, otherwise we will not achieve our goals,¡± the minister was quoted as saying. ¡°This integration will pay off very soon and we expect [it] to result in a pioneering institution that will ultimately build a generation that will be able to achieve the goals of the leadership.¡±

Ahmad Belhoul, the higher education minister, said that the merger would allow Abu Dhabi to ¡°leverage combined resources and expertise while fostering greater knowledge-sharing¡±.

In a separate development, Massachusetts Institute of Technology has announced that its School of Architecture and Planning will help to launch a new undergraduate institution in Dubai, focusing on design. The Dubai Institute of Design and Innovation will offer the Gulf¡¯s first degree in design, MIT said.?

chris.havergal@tesglobal.com