UAE cuts university registration time by 70% through new digital platform

Students applying to universities in the UAE can now complete their registration in just three minutes instead of 10 thanks to its new digital platform.

The Ministry of Higher Education and Scientific Research (MoHESR) announced that its National Unified Registration and Admission Platform has reduced the number of registration steps from eight to three, a 62% reduction.

The platform, which operates through the EduHub digital gateway, also eliminates the need for students to submit documents by automatically retrieving their information from three official government data sources.

It can recommend suitable academic programmes from more than 1,000 options and allows students to track their applications until they receive an admission decision.

The improvements were discussed during the seventh meeting of the Higher Education Committee, held at the ministry’s headquarters in Dubai.

The meeting was chaired by Dr Abdulrahman Al Awar, Minister of Human Resources and Emiratisation and Acting Minister of Higher Education and Scientific Research.

Officials reviewed university admissions for the 2026–2027 academic year and discussed ways to make higher education services more accessible to students.

The committee also examined the use of artificial intelligence to improve education services and support students in choosing suitable academic programmes.

The meeting reviewed several Cabinet resolutions introduced in 2026 to regulate higher education institutions across the UAE.

These include updated licensing requirements, service fees and administrative penalties for institutions that fail to meet regulatory requirements.

To help institutions understand the new regulations, the ministry organised three discussion sessions and two workshops attended by 566 representatives from universities and training institutions.

Al Awar said the UAE is working to develop a higher education system that meets the country’s future needs and prepares students for the changing job market.

He stressed the importance of improving education quality, strengthening cooperation between universities and employers, and making greater use of AI.

The committee also reviewed improvements in the quality of information submitted by federal universities following the introduction of a Data Quality Dashboard.

Officials discussed preparations for the first UAE Award in Higher Education, launched under the patronage of Sheikh Abdullah bin Zayed Al Nahyan.

The award includes four main categories and 18 subcategories recognising universities, education projects, individuals and partners contributing to higher education.