Dubai World Central (DWC) is joining hands with Dubai Real Estate Institute (DREI) in a long-term partnership to provide DWC employees and executives real estate education and professional development solutions.

DWC is a huge140 square km urban aviation project under construction in Jebel Ali, Dubai while DREI the leading academic institute for real estate studies and real estate development programs in the Middle East.

The memorandum of understanding (MoU) will allow DWC staff to attend graduate diploma or master programmes at the institute and give them access to specially designed, customised and deployed training programmes based on DWC’s requirements as well as access to this first specialised learning centre for research purposes.

“This MoU is mutually beneficial. While DWC staff will gain the knowledge necessary to allow them to better operate DWC’s real estate development, DREI students will also experience first hand DWC’s operations,” said CEO, Real Estate, Dubai World Central, Khalid bin Harib.

“DREI students will gain access to DWC premises, facilities, key people and projects to facilitate academic and research projects. In return, DWC personnel will be able to use DREI’s resources, facilities and data in their planning processes,” he added.

DWC’s Real Estate division encompasses three of its six ‘specialised clusters’ - Residential City, Commercial City and Golf City. DWC Residential City will include a mix of five-to-ten storey mid-cost apartment blocks, where up to 250,000 people are expected to live. A special staff village will also provide quality accommodation for blue-collar workers.

DWC Commercial City will have more than 850 towers, ranging from 1-to-45 storeys. It will also boast 25 hotels – a mix of five to three star properties. DWC Golf City will feature a high-end boutique hotel and over 5,000 freehold homes, located around two 18-hole golf courses.

“DREI will provide support to DWC staff allowing them to apply their newly acquired knowledge and skills in the field of real estate management and operations. We are committed to enhancing the competitiveness of our partners to face the challenges ahead. As or programs cover the whole spectrum of the real estate business, we are confident that DWC as an industry will realise its strategies and ambitions,” said DREI’s managing director Dr. Mohammad Al Shihhi.

DWC also boasts Dubai Logistics City (DLC) – the world's first truly integrated multi-modal logistics platform in a single-bonded free zone environment – and DWC Aviation City, which will be home to the world's largest maintenance, repair and overhaul (MRO) centre. – TradeArabia News Service