Cracking the education management business is tough, given the challenges and high expectations. This is more so in the UAE, with its high-end schools and colleges with pupils from diverse nationalities.

Yet, Study World Education Holding Group, foraying into this segment 15 years ago, appears to have found the right formula.

Over the years, as a Dubai-based company, founded by Indian expat Dr Vidhya Vinod, went on to partner with one educational institution after another. Its bouquet of services has grown too: infrastructure support, academic administration, registry, student visa support, student recruitment and marketing, student housing and transport.

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There have also been international forays too: India, Sri Lanka, Malaysia and Malta. The company’s range of clients is also wide — from K-12 schools to universities.

Today, Study World manages nearly 4,500 students – growing from less than 500 in 2005 it started out and the figure is projected to rise to 5,000 by 2020.

Study World with over 400 employees runs more than 100 programmes in various schools and colleges, many with a large proportion of international students. The biggest chunk, in its subject mix, is management at 30%, followed by built environment at 20% and engineering at 18% and textiles & design at 7%. The students come from 120 nationalities and 30% of them are international students.

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Study World has also steadily added big names to its list of education partners, notably from the United Kingdom, given the attractiveness among students to its universities. The partners include Heriot Watt University-Dubai campus, Lancaster University, University of Chester and University of Bolton. It owns and manages the Study World Global College in Malta with courses from the University of Chester and has invested in Dove Green Private School in Dubai. It is also looking to set up different courses at a media school at the Insight Media City, coming up at a cost of $115-million in Kochi, India. It Sri Lanka campus offers courses from the University of Bolton.

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The use of technology in its services and process has been a critical part of the growth strategy of the company. It now says efforts are being made to use AI to eliminate repetitive tasks in teaching, create “smart content” for personalized and blended learning for better student engagement and more collaboration.

Earlier this month, Study World Education Holding was awarded the Qadat Al Tagheer Award for Tech Excellence in Education at the UAE-India Economic Forum, organised by BusinessLive Middle East.