About National University of Dubai

Born in Dubai and global by design, NUD will take on the defining challenges of our time through bold, time-bound missions, and turn ideas into new knowledge, new ventures and whole new industries. We are looking for the trailblazers who will build it with us.

Relentlessly ambitious. Dubai was built on an ambition to reach the future first, by people with the courage, openness and resolve to turn the improbable into reality. National University of Dubai brings that same conviction to the pursuit of knowledge. We are here to solve new problems with new ideas, because the challenges ahead cannot be solved by looking backwards.

A truly global university. NUD is firmly rooted in Dubai and open to the world. From a city that looks both East and West, and connects more than 3.5 billion people within an eight-hour flight, we are building an international community of faculty, staff and students, and partnerships with leading universities and organisations around the world. Our ambition is to make contributions that matter far beyond borders and generations.

Powering a knowledge economy. Dubai has set out to become one of the world’s most dynamic, knowledge-intensive economies. NUD exists to accelerate that transition. It will generate the ideas, talent, technologies and ventures that create new industries and strengthen existing ones, locally, regionally and globally.

Research without boundaries. NUD is a research university with full academic independence. Our research agenda is strongly informed by real-world challenges and by the industry and government partners who bring them to us, but it is not limited to them. Fundamental, curiosity-driven research sits alongside applied and translational work, because tomorrow’s breakthroughs often begin with questions no one has thought to ask yet.

Built around the forces reshaping the world. Instead of departments, NUD is organised into transdisciplinary institutes. Our first four are:

• Future Finance & Enterprise – the future of finance, investment, capital and enterprise
• Future Industries & Engineering – intelligent robotics, digital manufacturing, product design and resilient supply chains
• Future Cities & Communities – the defining challenges of the urban century, from climate and mobility to governance and inclusion
• Future Resources & Resilience – resilience across energy, water, food, materials and logistics

Four Centres of Expertise run across every institute and every degree: Integrated AI, Future Leadership & Management, Product & Service Innovation and Entrepreneurship & Venture Building.

And this is only our founding structure. New institutes and centres will follow as NUD grows, and our founding faculty and institute directors will help decide what they are.

Making your Application

All applications will be managed by the team at Perrett Laver: Daniel Munks, Ellie Beveridge and Emma Stone. Should you have any questions please do not hesitate to reach out to them directly. 

A letter from the President

Most academics and industry practitioners never get the chance to build a university from the ground up. At NUD, you will.

As a founding member, you would help decide what NUD becomes – from its institutes, first programmes and research missions, to the standards and culture that every future colleague and student will inherit.

NUD comes out of Dubai, a city that has built its future faster and more boldly than almost anywhere on earth. We are bringing that same relentless spirit and ambition to higher education. Our purpose is to create new pathways for talent, research and industry, while developing confident, inspirational leaders who will help build flourishing communities and make Dubai home to one of the world’s most dynamic, resilient and knowledge-based economies.

Our model is deliberately unconventional and relentlessly bold, because a fundamentally different future demands a fundamentally different approach. Industry and government partners sit inside the university, bringing us their hardest challenges, their sites and their data. But our research will never be limited to their questions. Our faculty help set the academic direction, pursue the big questions in their fields and hold every piece of work to the highest standards. Our students learn by tackling real challenges from day one, and graduate as confident leaders and venture creators, ready to lead change.

I will be honest with you. This is not a standard university post. Building an innovative enterprise from scratch takes ambition, energy and a real appetite for the unknown. NUD is not for the faint-hearted. But if you have ever thought, “If I were designing a university, I would do it differently,” this is your moment.

Victor van der Chijs,
President, National University of Dubai

Pioneers Wanted

We are looking for pioneers and visionaries who want to build something exceptional from the ground up. And who have the ambition, energy and entrepreneurial drive to make it happen.

NUD’s founding directors and faculty will come from around the world. They will be internationally recognised scholars, researchers and industry practitioners who measure their work by what it changes, in Dubai, in the region and across the world. What matters most is not only what you have achieved, but your energy for what comes next.

You will likely be:

• Ambitious – driven to do the best work of your career, and to help build an institution that ranks among the world’s most exciting
• Entrepreneurial and high-agency – ready to create new programmes, research platforms, partnerships and ventures, and to turn ideas into action fast
• Intellectually fearless – advancing important, original research with rigour and integrity, and asking questions others have not
• Impact-minded – motivated to see knowledge move beyond publication into deployment and real-world change
• Globally minded – at home in an international community and excited by Dubai as a bridge between East and West
• Technology-curious – exploring how AI, data and emerging technologies are reshaping your field
• Naturally collaborative – excited to work across disciplines, institutes, sectors and borders
• Student-focused – committed to developing the next generation of leaders and innovators

For Institute Directors, ideally you will have distinguished standing in your field, proven leadership in building teams and launching programmes, a strong national and international reputation, established industry networks and strong commercial acumen. Candidates from industry and academia are equally welcome.

For founding faculty, we are seeking trailblazing individuals who hold a PhD or equivalent, a strong or emerging research record appropriate to their career stage, demonstrated teaching capability, and evidence of research quality and impact, whether through publications, funding, industry collaboration, supervision or translational outcomes

Why join NUD

Be a founder, not a follower. Help design the institutes, programmes, research missions and academic policies that NUD will run on, and shape the new institutes and centres that come next.

Build without legacy. No departments to defend and no outdated systems to work around, with the support of the Provost and specialists in curriculum design, accreditation and digital learning.

Freedom with real-world reach. Pursue the big questions in your field, and work side by side with industry and government partners on real challenges, with real data and real sites, while you lead the academic direction, methods and standards.

A global community. Work alongside colleagues, students and partners from every part of the world, in one of the most international cities on earth.

Support from the start. NUD plans dedicated institutional research funding so founding faculty can build teams from the outset, with tailored start-up packages, access to shared compute, data and AI platforms, and partners’ labs and testbeds.

Keep your networks. Links with your current institution are an asset. Staged starts, joint roles and transition periods to complete grants and supervision can be discussed.

AI-native from day one. AI runs through how NUD teaches, researches and operates, with the Centre of Expertise for Integrated AI leading responsible AI across every institute.

Long-term backing. NUD is funded by the Government of Dubai and is designed to become self-sustaining through research, industry partnerships, tuition, executive education, ventures and a planned endowment.

Living and working in Dubai

A city that builds the future in real time. Dubai is one of the world’s most future-ready cities. Its Economic Agenda, D33, aims to double the size of Dubai’s economy by 2033 and place it among the world’s top three global cities. Every sector, policy and investment is being reimagined around a diversified, knowledge-intensive economy, and higher education is an explicit priority: Dubai aims to become one of the world’s top 10 education destinations by 2033.

A living lab for innovation. From one of the world’s first comprehensive AI blueprints to regulatory sandboxes for blockchain, green hydrogen, space and advanced manufacturing, Dubai lets researchers and entrepreneurs test ideas with regulators and deploy them at scale. For NUD’s faculty, that means real access to the industries, data and decision-makers that shape the future.

At the centre of the world. Dubai links East and West, North and South, with more than 3.5 billion people within an eight-hour flight. Dubai International (DXB) is the world’s busiest international airport, so staying close to collaborators, conferences and family is easy.

Recognised worldwide. Dubai ranks 8th worldwide in the Global Power City Index 2024 and 1st in the Middle East. It is the world’s leading destination for greenfield foreign direct investment, and among the most recommended cities in the world to relocate to.

Quality of life. Dubai is one of the safest, cleanest and most liveable cities in the world, home to people from around 200 nationalities. World-class dining, arts and culture festivals, beaches and desert retreats sit alongside a fast-growing creative economy. The Dubai Urban Master Plan 2040 and the Dubai Social Agenda 33 aim to double green and recreational spaces and further improve mobility, health and education. Families can choose from a wide range of international schools offering British, American, IB and other curricula.