Your student life

From your first day on campus to graduation and beyond, the right support will be there whenever you need it.

You’ll also have lots of opportunities to develop your skills, be active in the university community and prepare for life after your studies.

Welcome to your university

To help you settle into university, we run a dedicated welcome programme at the start of the academic year.

It’s a great way to meet new friends, have fun and make connections that could last a lifetime. From hiking, to an outdoor cinema, to a mix and mingle cereal cafe, there’s something for everyone.

You’ll also be given all the information you need about our services and systems, such as IT, careers, wellbeing and our library.

Social, health and wellbeing

Adapting to university life can be a challenge. That’s why your health, wellbeing and personal development are just as important to us as your academic achievement. At the University of Birmingham Dubai, we have a dedicated student wellbeing team who’ll help with any academic or wellness concerns you may have.

You’ll also find a wide range of activities beyond your studies, including sports, arts, community volunteering and culture. From joining the gym or a sports club, to meeting like-minded people in a society, there are countless opportunities to socialise, network and have fun.

Giving students a voice

As a student in Dubai, you can have your say through our Students’ Association.

Students are at the heart of everything we do, so we love to hear from them on our future plans for our campus.

In our yearly student elections, you can vote for the person who best represents you. Meanwhile, our Student Leaders programme helps a voluntary team of Student Representatives provide feedback to academic staff.

Working with the Student Guild in the UK, you can also set up student clubs or groups, or organise trips and extracurricular activities.

All great ways to meet people and try something new.

Our current clubs include:

  • ACM Student Chapter
  • Basketball
  • Creative Pod
  • Football
  • Literary Coven
  • Plant and Animal Welfare Society
  • Space Society
  • Volleyball
  • Women in STEM
  • Plus many more

Innovative learning and resources

How you study is just as important as what you study. Meaning you’ll benefit from innovative digital learning technology that enhances your chosen subject. For example, each degree module has a dedicated area on Canvas, our Virtual Learning Environment (VLE). Here, you can access digital content, ebooks, ejournals, virtual classrooms, videos, discussion forums, lecture capture and much more.

We also offer:

  • Support to develop your academic and digital literacy skills
  • A learning environment customisable to you
  • Virtual classrooms and online discussions to continue your academic work beyond the lecture theatre
  • An online platform with added resources to support your learning
  • The chance to link up with students in Birmingham who are studying the same programme as you
  • Specialist support through online appointments with professionals at our UK campus

Grow your skills

Activate your full potential. Beyond your studies, you can work with fellow students to stretch and develop your skills. For Dubai students, we have so many opportunities to explore.

For instance, you could develop your leadership skills on the student ambassador programme, or as part of the Students’ Association team. You could take part in activities which encourage working in interdisciplinary teams.

Or you could attend a range of workshops on topics such as building your resilience, critical thinking, prioritisation and time-management.

'As an international student, it’s quite easy to make new friends. The environment in Dubai is very welcoming, in my accommodation it was easy given we have use of study rooms, the amphitheatre, indoor cinema, always social events taking place and I could live my authentic student life.'
Blessed, BSc Economics
'I’m a Foundation Year Psychology Student and my favourite thing about the university is the quality of the teaching, my professors are really great and supportive with our studies'
Lena, BSc Psychology with Integrated Foundation Year