Located within Dubai International Academic City (DIAC), the facilities will open in September 2021 and provide an academic home for up to 2,900 students.

The second phase of the campus will be built opposite the city’s first purpose-built student accommodation community and is being designed by Hopkins Architects.

The 50,000 square metre campus is designed to encourage collaboration across all academic disciplines, with flexible learning spaces and formal teaching spaces ensuring that both teaching and research can benefit students.

There are also plans for a a student ‘hub’ which will locate student services in one space while other facilities will include a 300-seat lecture theatre, an auditorium and three laboratories accommodating 200 students, along with seminar and tutorial rooms.

Dr Ed Smith CBE, University of Birmingham pro-chancellor and chair of the council, said: ‘This is a truly exciting milestone for the University of Birmingham. From the outset, council members have wholeheartedly supported this visionary project to build a campus in Dubai.’

Mohammad Abdullah, managing director of Dubai International Academic City and Dubai Knowledge Park also commented on the project. He said: ‘We are pleased to strengthen our partnership with the University of Birmingham. The establishment of the University of Birmingham at DIAC represents an important step towards a long-term relationship that will enhance educational experiences for local and transnational students alike.’

The first UoB Dubai campus was opened and welcomed students in September 2018 and was built to show the University’s ‘global mission’ according to Vice-chancellor Sir David Eastwood.

Students attending the UoB Dubai campus can get a full University of Birmingham degree without having to leave the Gulf. Dubai already has branches of UK universities such as Exeter, Bradford, London Business School and Heriot-Watt. Birmingham was the first global top 100 and UK Russell Group university to establish a campus in Dubai.