DIDI Announces AED10,000 Scholarships During Ramadan to Support Future Design Leaders

• “Empowering students with the fundamentals of design thinking is an imperative, particularly for those coming of age in a digitally enabled knowledge economy,” says DIDI President Mohammad Abdullah
• All students who apply and secure their deposits during Ramadan will qualify for the discount  
• The Ramadan discount aims to expand the pool of future-ready design talent in the region by reducing financial barriers while giving back to the community  

Dubai, UAE, 04 March 2024: Dubai Institute of Design and Innovation (DIDI), which offers the region’s first multidisciplinary Bachelor of Design, launched today a Ramadan discount to encourage and empower a wider breadth of future design thinkers and leaders in line with the Dubai Creative Economic Strategy.

DIDI is reducing first-year tuition fees by AED10,000 for any students applying and securing their spots for the September 2024 intake during Ramadan. [SM1] [MI2] [MI3] The university aims to advance its vision to take design thinking principles to a broader audience while reflecting its commitment to giving back to the community during the Holy Month.

“Empowering students with the fundamentals of design thinking is an imperative, particularly for those coming of age in a digitally enabled knowledge economy,” Mohammad Abdullah, President of DIDI, said.  “With the Ramadan initiative, DIDI aims to support a wider scope of prospective students to pursue an education in design so that they can create and conceive solutions that add value and reshape the future socially, digitally, and creatively.”

“The discount reflects DIDI’s dedication to supporting talented students who may face financial barriers to higher education. It will also enable more students to thrive in the knowledge economy by adopting invaluable, transferrable traits such as innovative and entrepreneurial thinking, creative problem-solving, and collaboration, alongside essential technical and business management skills. By providing future generations with such resources, we can empower them to enact sustainable positive change in their communities, build a better and brighter world, and contribute to Dubai’s economic development.” 

Valid only for the 2024 academic year, the discount is applicable to domestic and international students applying to DIDI’s undergraduate programme, crafted with the prestigious Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) and The New School’s Parsons School of Design. Students must submit their applications and tuition deposits before the end of Ramadan to qualify for AED10,000 off their first-year tuition fees.

At DIDI, students combine two of four disciplines – Product Design, Multimedia Design, Fashion Design, and Strategic Design Management – to secure their Bachelor of Design. The four-year programme begins with an immersive exposure to basic visual, digital, and entrepreneurship skills, followed by a cross-disciplinary academic journey that combines design expertise, engineering know-how, and business management skills and ensures graduates have adaptable and flexible skills for a rapidly changing design and digital job landscape.

University students tackle diverse sectors through the lens of human-centric design across lectures, collaborative projects, real-world briefs and competitions with industry-leading brands and experts. Graduate capstone projects paint a vivid picture of the kinds of subjects students encounter, such as a gamified neurofeedback therapy product to support ADHD treatment, multifunctional clothing developed out of zero-waste pattern-cutting techniques and a virtual reality (VR) device controller that makes virtual environments more accessible to visually impaired individuals.

DIDI’s hands-on and immersive learning environment includes external collaborations and competitions that provide students with real-world design challenges and experiences. DIDI is one of only four global universities – and only one in the region – selected to participate in the Sustainable Markets Initiative’s Terra Carta Design Lab. The competition, founded by His Majesty King Charles III, in his former role as the Prince of Wales, and Sir Jony Ive in 2021, in partnership with the Royal College of Art, aims to discover student-led, high-impact solutions to the climate crisis.

DIDI’s vision is simple: to prepare students for a world where today’s jobs may not exist in the future. It is located in Dubai Design District (d3), immersing students in a dynamic, global creative business district shared by industry-leading experts and brands shaping Dubai and the region’s creative economy.

Applications are open. For more information about DIDI and how to apply, please visit: didi.ac.ae/en

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About Dubai Institute of Design and Innovation (DIDI)

Established in collaboration with Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) and The New School’s Parsons School of Design, Dubai Institute of Design and Innovation (DIDI) is a private non-profit university, located at Dubai Design District (d3) and accredited by the UAE Ministry of Education.

With its first intake in 2018, DIDI focuses on nurturing the Middle East’s next generation of designers. Its curriculum is designed to empower students to map out their own four-year educational journey, culminating in the region’s first integrated Bachelor of Design degree with a choice of concentrations in the areas of Product Design, Multimedia Design, Fashion Design and Strategic Design Management.

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 [SM1]DIDI to clarify:

-Is this scholarship valid for one year at DIDI, or will it apply to all 4?

-What date can people start applying officially, and what is the cut off date for applications?

-When will people find out if they qualify?

-What is relevant application process? Can you share any conditions to applying that would be of note to the public?

 [MI2]One year. Let’s put September 2024 intake rather than 24/25

 [MI3]-Is this scholarship valid for one year at DIDI, or will it apply to all 4? First year.

-What date can people start applying officially, and what is the cut off date for applications?  Start of Ramadan and cut off is end of Ramadan – we don’t have yet the exact Ramadan dates.

-When will people find out if they qualify? As soon as they submit an inquiry with our admissions team.

-What is relevant application process? Can you share any conditions to applying that would be of note to the public? Applying and paying a tuition fee deposit before the cut off date (i.e. before the end of Ramadan).