
ICEF Middle East Scholarship and Partnership Summit (2025)

A high-level event connecting international education professionals with scholarship providers and HEIs from GCC countries to develop long-term partnerships.
Connecting education providers around the world with scholarship providers and HEIs from the Middle East
On 16 – 17 February 2025, the ICEF Middle East Scholarship and Partnership Summit returns to Muscat, Oman, for its third edition. Developed in close partnership with the Sultanate of Oman’s Ministry of Higher Education, Research and Innovation, this event provides a truly unique platform, where selected international education professionals can not only network with scholarship providers sending students abroad from the Middle East, but also establish institutional partnerships with universities from this region.
Taking place immediately after the 18th edition of ICEF Dubai, this summit provides the unparalleled opportunity to engage with key policy and decision makers from 100+ Middle East scholarship organisations and universities – vital contacts for educational institutions hoping to make inroads into this expanding, yet complex regional education sector. With limited spaces available, participation will be by application and selection only.
Meeting one-to-one and networking with prominent scholarship organisations and higher education institutions from Bahrain, Kuwait, Iraq, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, and the UAE will enable international education institutions to attract high numbers of well-funded students from this rapidly growing market segment, where forming personal connections and engaging with the local culture is essential to creating long-lasting partnerships.
Motivated by ambitious national Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), these organisations control in excess of US$20 billion in scholarship funds and have embarked on an unprecedented drive to provide funding for internships, pathway/vocational programmes, life-long learning opportunities, professional training programmes, language studies, and university scholarships for hundreds of thousands of students studying abroad each year.
Event programme, seminars, & meetings
Opening the summit will be a programme of seminars and panel discussions featuring regional leaders and experts, as well as engaging round table discussions, giving you the opportunity to debate regional topics with heads of scholarship organisations, government ministers, Middle East experts, and sector peers – all with the full support and engagement of the Sultanate of Oman’s Ministry of Higher Education, Research and Innovation.
You can also build a personalised programme of up to 17 in-person meetings with scholarship providers, selected to support your recruitment objectives. Refreshment breaks, lunches, and evening functions including a gala dinner give you additional networking opportunities.