American University in Dubai

Following the 1991 Gulf War, Elias Bou Saab and his team from the American Intercontinental University explored establishing an American-style university in the Persian Gulf due to a lack of quality private education.

Dubai was identified as an ideal location due to political stability and growing education sector. Bou Saab then established the American University in Dubai in 1995 with the support of Sheikh Mohammed Bin Rashid Al Maktoum.

AUD rapidly grew after starting with 165 students. In 2000, it moved to a new campus of 1,400,000 square feet with 687 students. The university was then officially licensed by the UAE Ministry of Higher Education and Scientific Research in 2000, highlighting big growth in the region's private higher education sector