The Global Business School for Health (GBSH), part of University College London (UCL), is bringing the world’s first business school dedicated exclusively to health to Dubai.
The launch was announced on October 26 at a special industry event hosted in Dubai Healthcare City.
UCL GBSH Dubai will operate in close collaboration with the Dubai Healthcare City Authority (DHCA). Its first cohort is expected in 2027, and it aims to become the leading provider of executive and postgraduate healthcare education across the UAE and GCC.
The school will offer interdisciplinary executive education, postgraduate management degrees, customised capability-building programmes, collaborative research and long-term organisational partnerships. Its focus spans healthcare, life sciences, AI, economics, policy, innovation and leadership. Programmes will rely on applied learning, case studies and live consultancy projects with partner organisations, so they are built around organisational outcomes.
The launch aligns with the ‘We the UAE 2031’ vision, the Dubai Economic Agenda, D33, and Dubai’s Education 33 strategy, which targets more than 70 higher education institutions by 2033. UCL, which celebrates its bicentenary this year, is ranked joint eighth globally in the QS World University Rankings 2027 and counts 33 Nobel Prize laureates among its former staff and students.
Allae Almanini, Chief Operating Officer at DHCA, said the school will strengthen Dubai Healthcare City as a destination for healthcare, education, research and innovation.
Dr. Wafi Dawood, CEO of the Strategic Development Sector at the Knowledge and Human Development Authority, said it reflects the ambitions of Education 33.
Professor Nora Colton, Founding Director of UCL GBSH, said healthcare transformation now depends as much on leadership, organisational performance and digital capability as on clinical expertise. She said the school will build lasting partnerships with government, providers, industry and academia.
News Source: House of Comms
