GEMS Education enters strategic partnership with London College of Fashion, UAL

GEMS Education has entered a strategic partnership with London College of Fashion (LCF), University of the Arts London (UAL), marking a significant milestone in the evolution of creative education in the region.

Partnering with London College of Fashion brings the academic expertise of one of the world’s most respected fashion institutions into the UAE. Renowned for its academic rigour, research-led approach, and deep integration with the creative industries, LCF brings internationally benchmarked standards in fashion education. As part of the University of the Arts London, LCF is known for its focus on fashion education across design, business and technology, and its close links with industry, providing students with learning that reflects real-world creative practice.

This collaboration brings together GEMS’ scale, educational leadership and access to diverse learner communities with LCF’s academic heritage, industry engagement, and creative credibility to deliver a contemporary and experiential approach to fashion education, across a broad spectrum of creative disciplines. By combining hands-on creative practice with commercial and industry-aligned learning, the partnership aims to prepare students for higher education, professional careers, and entrepreneurial opportunities in the creative sector, bridging the gap between traditional learning and real-world application.

Dino Varkey, Group Chief Executive Officer at GEMS Education, said: “At GEMS, our long-term vision is to prepare our students not only for university, but for the industries and careers of the future. The partnership with LCF allows us to bring the best global creative expertise into the UAE education ecosystem. Together, we aim to equip students with learning that is relevant, rigorous, and rooted in real-world application, preparing them for both higher education and professional pathways in the creative industries.”

Shabir Aslam, Director of International Partnerships at London College of Fashion, said: “This partnership marks London College of Fashion’s first formal academic collaboration in the UAE region and represents an important step in how we engage globally. Working with GEMS will enable us to build a strong pipeline into higher education, responding to the needs of students and the wider creative economy by designing learning experiences that develop the skills, critical thinking and industry awareness young people need to progress their ambitions.”

As part of the initial phase of the collaboration, GEMS and LCF will explore opportunities to introduce short, specialist learning experiences, with further details to be announced in due course.