The UAE gives great importance to nurturing talent in the cultural sector and aims to do this by providing wide-ranging, sustainable and quality training. One major initiative implemented in this regard is the arts and culture scholarship program, a program for Emirati students pursuing arts and culture bachelor's, master's and Ph.D. degree in the UAE and abroad. Through the program, interested students are supported to develop the skills and talents that qualify them for higher education programs in the arts and culture and are trained in preparing strong applications and portfolios and are financially supported to pursue their studies. The majors that qualify for the scholarship program include but are not limited to archeology, design, museums, music, theater, filmmaking, literature, languages, libraries, architecture, visual arts, and culinary arts.
Many Emirati students have specialized and continue to specialize in cultural programs in universities abroad, and many non-Emirati students have studied and continue to study in cultural university programs in the UAE.
The arts and culture scholarship program enables the development of talent that can benefit from the entrepreneurial opportunities that exist in the UAE and meet cultural labor demands in the country, further strengthening and developing the cultural ecosystem in the UAE. The program also enables Emirati students to contribute their voice to discussions taking place in cultural academic institutions around the world, to learn from and about their peers, and to offer insights from the perspective of an Emirati.