Dubai: The UAE Ministry of Higher Education and Scientific Research has launched a new AI-powered scholarship platform designed to simplify applications and make the entire scholarship process fully digital.The platform has been launched as part of EduHub, the ministry’s unified digital higher education portal, which serves as a gateway for several services, including registration and admission to higher education institutions, scholarships, enquiries about universities and academic programmes outside the UAE, and the submission and tracking of exemption requests.Applications now take as little as five minutesThe new scholarship platform uses artificial intelligence and digital integration with government entities to reduce the information and documents applicants need to provide.Rashid Karam Al Kaabi, Director of the International Education Support and Scholarships Department at the Ministry of Higher Education and Scientific Research, said the platform is directly integrated with several government entities, including the Federal Authority for Identity, Citizenship, Customs and Port Security (ICP), the National and Reserve Service Authority and the Ministry of Education.As a result, applicants now need to submit only two documents.They are also no longer required to manually provide personal information or, in the case of students following the government curriculum, their secondary school transcripts. These details are retrieved automatically through the system.The number of steps required to submit an application has been reduced from five to three, while the number of fields applicants need to complete has fallen from 22 to four.According to Al Kaabi, this means an application can now be submitted in as little as five minutes.The ministry said the changes are part of its efforts to accelerate digital transformation, reduce bureaucracy and use artificial intelligence to improve the efficiency of government services and make them easier to access.AI checks documentsArtificial intelligence tools are used to read and verify documents submitted through the platform.Several procedures that previously required direct involvement from applicants have also been automated. This includes signing the scholarship contract, which can now be completed entirely electronically through the system.Documents issued after a scholarship has been awarded can also be received digitally, removing the need for traditional communication channels or visits to ministry offices.Track your application onlineApplicants receive instant notifications and regular updates on the status of their applications.The platform also includes a direct messaging feature allowing students to communicate with the relevant department, making it easier to follow up on applications and helping prevent duplicate requests.According to the ministry, electronic integration with government entities also makes it easier for employees to process applications and reduces the potential for manual errors.The platform is intended to address some of the main issues applicants previously faced, including difficulties tracking applications through email, having to visit the ministry when technical problems occurred and lengthy procedures for signing documents.All stages of the scholarship service are now fully digital.The ministry said it will assess the platform’s effectiveness in the coming period by measuring factors including service completion times, the number of steps involved, the proportion of transactions completed digitally and customer satisfactionThe findings will be used to continuously improve the service and the overall applicant experience.
