Khalifa University

About

Khalifa University (Arabic: جامعة خليفة) is a public research university located in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates. It was established in its current form in February 2017 by decree of UAE President Khalifa bin Zayed Al Nahyan, through the merger of three institutions: Khalifa University of Science, Technology and Research (KUSTAR), the Petroleum Institute, and the Masdar Institute of Science and Technology. The university comprises three colleges, three research institutes, and 20 research centers covering science, engineering, and medicine. Khalifa University is the top ranked university in the United Arab Emirates and among the leading research institutions in the Arab world. In the QS World University Rankings 2026, it is placed 177th globally and 3rd in the Arab region — ranking 11th globally for international faculty and 37th globally for academic reputation. In the Times Higher Education World University Rankings 2026, it is placed 201st globally and 5th in the Arab region. Its research output is among the most cited in the region — between 2022 and 2024 the university produced 7,018 publications with a Field-Weighted Citation Impact (FWCI) of 2.21, meaning its research receives on average more than double the citations of comparable work worldwide. In 2024, 112 faculty members were included in the Stanford University–Elsevier Top 2% worldwide scientists list.

Khalifa University traces its origins to 1989, when Etisalat University College was founded in Sharjah by the Emirates Telecommunications Corporation to provide programmes in engineering and applied sciences. In 2001, the Petroleum Institute was established in Abu Dhabi by Emiri decree, funded by the Abu Dhabi National Oil Company (ADNOC) and international partners including BP, Shell, Total, and the Japan Oil Development Company, as a specialised centre for petroleum engineering education and research developed in partnership with the Colorado School of Mines. The Petroleum Institute graduated its first cohort of engineers in 2006 and admitted its first female students the same year. In 2007, Khalifa University of Science, Technology and Research (KUSTAR) was established by presidential decree, acquiring Etisalat University College in the same year. Also in 2007, the Masdar Institute of Science and Technology was established in collaboration with the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) as the region's first graduate-level research university focused on advanced energy and sustainable technologies. In February 2017, UAE President Khalifa bin Zayed Al Nahyan issued a decree merging KUSTAR, the Petroleum Institute, and the Masdar Institute into a single institution named Khalifa University of Science and Technology. At the time of the merger the three institutions together enrolled more than 4,600 students and employed over 465 academic staff. The merger brought together KUSTAR's broad engineering focus, the Petroleum Institute's industry-oriented programmes, and the Masdar Institute's emphasis on sustainability and renewable energy under a unified research-intensive structure aligned with the UAE's Vision 2021 goals for a knowledge-based economy.

Khalifa University comprises three colleges — the College of Engineering and Physical Sciences, the College of Computing and Mathematical Sciences, and the College of Medicine and Health Sciences — alongside three research institutes, 18 research centers, and 36 academic departments. The university offers undergraduate, postgraduate, and doctoral programmes across engineering, science, computing, and medicine. The university's Institute for International and Civil Security (IICS) offers a graduate programme focused on security policy and research, the first of its kind in the Gulf region.

Adapted from Wikipedia (CC BY-SA). Photography via Wikimedia Commons.