Introduction

In the last few decades the states of the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) have enjoyed economic success as both oil producers and trade hubs. Aware that their main advantage in the present is a non-renewable resource base that is currently providing wealth but will not continue to do so indefinitely, these states are looking to the realm of knowledge as a base for their future economies. In recent years several of the GCC states, notably the small but wealthy states of UAE and Qatar, have made efforts to use their locations, relatively stable political situations and natural resources to develop their human capital by investing in a variety of ambitious projects.

While the GCC states have invested their money widely and diversely, they have made significant investments in education, scientific research, and heritage. The reasons for this are varied: more enduring sources of wealth and prestige are undoubtedly part of the motivation, but so are concerns about the continuation of their culture, the reliance on foreign workers to fill many private sector jobs, and the stability of the wider Middle Eastern region. Alongside these pragmatic concerns are more idealistic motivations, such as a genuine desire for more intellectual and cultural pursuits, a love of their heritage and even an attempt to bring about a new golden age of Arab-Islamic science and knowledge. Additionally, the existential threat posed by regional and global disorder is an under-examined contributing factor for the rapid development of knowledge centers at considerable expense; these centers offer a positive alternative model of Arab society. Countries such as the UAE and Qatar seek to set themselves up as future exporters of knowledge as a way of protecting their prosperity, and thus their stability.

In the last few decades numerous and varied centers of knowledge have been built. Examples include Universities, Science Centers and Renewable Energy Research Centers. Healthcare centers such as Dubai’s Heathcare City have set up research arms such as the Mohammed Bin Rashid Academic Medical Center to focus on the specific health needs of the region.

To develop these knowledge centers, land grants (frequently with a special ‘free zone’ status) are given to themed ‘cities’ that house these centers: Abu Dhabi’s Masdar City, Dubai’s Knowledge Village and Sharjah’s University City being examples. Capital is often provided to develop not only infrastructure, but also to offer high salaries to entice international scholars on short or long-term contracts, and to provide scholarships for local students and some promising expatriates. A theme of the past few decades in both universities and corporations is that scientists and scholars are brought from the West (or trained at Western institutions) while laboratory and middle-range expertise is often brought from the Indian subcontinent, the larger Middle Eastern region and the Philippines. This theme is being challenged by the new generation of GCC nationals that are being trained to take over positions in higher education.