In the Middle East, countries are telling similar stories of oil-induced economic distress which could affect sovereign funding for international education as well as the coffers of individual families. Will Qatar be the next to stumble? Michael Deere reports.

Scholarships are key in increasing the numbers of mobile students from the Gulf region said educators and providers at the Gulf Conferences scholarship programme meeting this week in London. Stakeholders project huge growth in the region’s education sector.

UK immigration rule changes were announced last week by new Immigration Minister, James Brokenshire, which include the rubberstamping of a 12-month internship scheme for Chinese students in the UK at the top 211 universities. Nationals from UAE, Oman and Qatar are now also deemed low-risk.

Academics at Athabasca University, Canada and Qatar University are developing a mobile learning application to help employees in Qatar's oil and gas industry to learn technical English language terms used in the sector. The m-learning project has been awarded a three-year grant by the Qatar National Research Fund.

Seven top universities in Malaysia held a two-day exhibit in Doha last month to boost interest among outbound Qatari students, whose number is growing. Meanwhile, a number of French institutions have agreed to provide Qataris with French language training to help them gain entrance to universities in France.