The British University in Dubai (BUiD) has welcomed the first enrolees to its Masters in Systems Engineering course.

With the course designed in collaboration with the University of Manchester, BUiD will provide students with the training and development necessary to address critical skills shortfalls throughout the Middle East, the university announced.

Dr Abdullah Alshamsi, vice-chancellor of the BUiD, said that there is a growing demand for local skills training to address the recruitment costs associated with hiring imported workers.

"We see a critical demand in the market to address the skills gap for qualified engineers that exists within key industries in the Middle East," he said.

In addition to the oil and gas sector, this shortfall was witnessed in the aerospace, robotic systems and industrial manufacturing industries.

According to its mission statement, one of the BUiD's key objectives is the interaction with local industries in order to stimulate the growth of the region's knowledge-based economy.

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