Middle Eastern nations are investing heavily in AI to modernize higher education and reshape the student experience.
Saudi Arabia has set a goal to have five universities rank among the world’s top 100 by 2030.
Qatar and the UAE have both pledged that artificial Intelligence (AI) will underpin every part of education by the end of the decade.
These are ambitious promises, backed by billions in investment to advance technology across the region and diversify local economies. Universities in the region are perfectly placed to take full advantage of these initiatives to adopt AI and use it to shape the future of higher education.
Using AI to Transform the Future of Learning
The rise of AI is giving universities in the Middle East the chance to rethink how they operate and how they support student success.
There are many areas to explore where the technology can drive real change.
How predictive analytics can improve student retention
Academic advisors and faculty spend much of their time identifying students at risk of falling behind, a task which will becoming an increasing administrative burden as student numbers grow.
AI can change all of that by handling in minutes what once took house of spreadsheet analysis, timetable scrutiny and face-to-face discussion. The technology can monitor attendance, assignment submissions and other key data in real time to predict students who may be at risk of falling behind or dropping out altogether, based on criteria set by their university. So if a student misses 20% of classes or their grade point average drops below 2.5 this timely information is instantly flagged. Advisors can then act early to prevent a poor outcome and support student retention.
Improving the student experience with chatbots
AI technology could benefit every area of university life in the Middle East, but its greatest immediate impact has the potential to take the student experience to new heights.
AI chatbots, now ubiquitous online, can answer students’ questions in seconds, put information directly into their hands to make decisions about their own academic journey and guide them through routine processes without the need for human intervention.
In an AI university, a student can get instantly signposted to where they can find help with housing or transport, for example, and if an appointment is needed to discuss the request, it is automatically scheduled by the system. All the students’ details are then sent to the relevant support team in advance so they can address the issue immediately. The process is fast and efficient for both students and staff.
More complex enquiries can also be managed quickly and easily with AI. If a student wants to explore different options to graduate sooner, they could ask AI to recommend the best course of action based on their individual academic situation. The tool might suggest they attempt to raise their grade point average by 2% over the next semester or take two courses at once, instead of consecutively, automatically taking the student’s existing timetable and curriculum schedule into account. Collating the information and data to make these recommendations would take a human weeks to complete.
Once the student has decided on their plan, it can be instantly shared with their academic advisor, who can verify and approve it quickly, giving students direct control over their own study pathways.
Automate to reduce the university’s administrative burden
AI is already helping universities take the strain off some of their most time-consuming tasks.
In admissions, for example, chatbots can guide applicants through the process, answering common questions and checking whether documents meet requirements. By providing instant feedback on missing information, they ease the workload on admissions teams and speed up decision-making.
Faculty can also benefit as routine coursework can be graded automatically, giving staff more time to focus on meaningful feedback and deeper support for the students who need it most.
Timetabling is another area where AI can make a real difference. By analysing data on enrolment patterns, course demand and lecturers’ availability, AI can generate schedules that minimise clashes, shorten transfer times between classes and make better use of teaching spaces.
How Can Middle Eastern Universities Use AI to Achieve Their Goals?
Universities in the Middle East aiming to enhance student support through the use of AI can look to global leaders like the Georgia Institute of Technology for inspiration. Although not based in the region, Georgia Tech serves as a benchmark for innovation, having successfully deployed a virtual teaching assistant that handled over 10,000 student inquiries in a single semester with 97% accuracy. This example illustrates the transformative potential of AI-driven solutions in improving responsiveness, scalability, and student engagement — outcomes that Middle Eastern institutions can replicate as part of their modernisation strategies.
A new era is dawning for Middle Eastern higher education as institutions set new goals and strategies to develop academic pathways for lifelong learning, increase student retention and encourage them to return.
AI can do much of the heavy lifting when it comes to analysing data and monitoring trends. It could highlight falling enrolment in Bahrain, for example, suggest ways to attract more students from Egypt or suggest the most effective ways to increase sponsorship for STEM scholarship programmes. This is essential insight for an institution with its sights set on growth.
With instant access to actionable strategies, institutions can spend less time making sense of data and more time putting initiatives in place to get the best possible outcomes for both students and the university.
How Can Ellucian Help Middle Eastern Universities Unlock the Potential of AI?
Purpose-built for higher education, our solutions incorporate the latest advances in AI technology to help institutions across the Middle East and globally to overcome the challenges they face and deliver life-long value for students.
The University of Al Dhaid is among thousands of institutions that have chosen our Ellucian Student SaaS solution , which enables universities to instantly access the information they need to make informed decisions and work more efficiently to meet students’ needs.
Find out how you can leverage artificial intelligence in your university with Ellucian Student.
- Predict and identify at-risk students so the right support can be delivered at the right time to ensure they succeed.
- Allow students and advisors to plot progress in real time and find the optimal path to completion of their academic programme – automatically accounting for unexpected grades, changing career requirements, course availability and students’ scheduling preferences.
- Provide a smart virtual assistant that uses natural language to answer questions from students on-demand, 24/7 – including over 800 questions from financial experts which can be tailored to each institution.
- Get critical insights from data to inform institutional decision-making and personalise learning to improve student outcomes.
For more information on how to become an AI-enabled institution in the Middle East, visit: https://www.ellucian.com/en-gb/products/artificial-intelligence
