Dubai, UAE. 24 November 2011. Heriot-Watt University held its annual graduation ceremony last night, at The Westin Hotel, Dubai, where 270 undergraduate and postgraduate students took their place on stage and celebrated the completion of their educational programmes.

The fifth graduation ceremony for the University's Dubai campus was well attended by family, friends, academic staff as well as other alumni members. Heriot-Watt University Principal Steve Chapman was present on stage and congratulated the students as they walked across the stage to receive their award.

Heriot-Watt University, the first overseas university to set up in Dubai International Academic City, prides itself in offering high-quality, accessible British education in the Middle East.

Heriot-Watt University Vice-Principal Professor Ammar Kaka commented: "The graduation ceremony was a proud moment for the students, their families and staff at Heriot-Watt University. Congratulations to all students who graduated this year. It has been an exciting time for the University with the opening of the new purpose-built campus in Academic City earlier this month. The new facilities are sure to attract even more students in the Middle East and I look forward to many more graduations such as these."

The new 28,000-sqm state-of-the-art campus opened earlier this month on 3rd November. Its modern design is eco-friendly, complete with tailored fashion labs, design studios, well-equipped engineering laboratories, and ICT labs with video-conferencing facilities. With the January semester drawing near, the new campus has already received a significant amount of interest from prospective students looking to study at Heriot-Watt University. 

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About Heriot-Watt University
Heriot-Watt's Dubai Campus has experienced an exciting few months with enrolments up by 36% in September 2010, 80% in May 2011 and a move in early November to the new AED200m, 28,000 sqm (300,000 sq. ft) state-of-the-art campus.

The new campus is modern and eco-friendly and will extend the student population to accommodate a further 3000 enrolments. The campus' investment is being supported through the partnership with Eikon International Holding, which collaboratively works with select universities to advance graduate and under-graduate programmes.

The University plans to expand its programme offering with a wide range of subjects including: Architectural Engineering; Interior Design; Logistics and Supply Chain Management; Applied Psychology; Food Science; Computer Systems and Water resources.

With an international history dating back to 1821, Heriot-Watt University has established a reputation for world-class teaching and applied, leading-edge research, which has made it one of the top UK universities for Engineering and business. In Dubai, the university offers various foundation, undergraduate and postgraduate programmes in Engineering, Business Management, Fashion, Built Environment, Information Technology, and Petroleum Engineering as well as MBA.

Heriot-Watt is Scotland's most international University with an unsurpassed global in-country presence. Degree programmes are delivered to 11,800 students from 150 countries around the world. Heriot-Watt University, Dubai Campus started in Dubai International Academic City in 2005. Due to high demand the University expanded in 2009, with the additional new block set to even further heighten its presence in the region as a leading university for the Middle East.

Media Contact:
Susan Parker or Ibrahim Ahmed
Fifth Ring for Heriot-Watt University
susan@fifthring.com / +971 4 372 154/ +971 50 101 4403
ibrahim@fifthring.com / +971 4 372 0151/ +971 50 831 0776

© Press Release 2011