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Education had always played a vital role in the growth and success of a nation. The developing world had continuously focused on delivering quality education to its citizens to meet the ever growing market demands of the developed world. Privatisation and internationalisation had played a key role in changing the enrollment rates and study preferences of the higher education sector in the globalised world. Middle East countries, especially the United Arab Emirates (UAE) had been witnessing a sudden surge in the demand for higher education since the beginning of the new millennium. UAE, situated in a strategic location in Southwest Asia, cuddled between Oman and Saudi Arabia, was considered as a viable destination for setting up international branch campuses due to its proximity with several Asian and Arab countries. Apart from providing free education to its citizens from K-12 to the university level, UAE had also been working towards establishing its credentials as a knowledge based economy. To realise this objective, UAE had successfully built the required infrastructure and invited renowned universities to set up their campuses in the country. Nearly 40 international branch campuses of Western universities cropped up in the UAE during the early 21st century. Though UAE was successful in establishing state-of-the-art higher education hubs, critics were of the opinion that the region needed to address several roadblocks such as incomplete accreditations, lack of focus on doctoral and research based programs, quality issues and providing enhanced financial support for overcoming the competition from other countries. Hence, it remained to be seen whether UAE would devise suitable strategies to address these hindrances and emerge as global knowledge economy apart from being branded as a smashing tourist destination.