UAE Students Like Muhammad Gain a New Voice as Ellucian's EnlightenED Community Arrives

Muhammad is a student at Regent Middle East, and he wanted to be heard. That is why he joined EnlightenED, the global student ambassador community founded by Ellucian, which has now launched in the United Arab Emirates.

“I joined EnlightenED because I wanted to share my opinion and meet more students,” he said. “Being involved in surveys, discussions and community activities about student life, career development and technology are some of my favourite parts.” He put it simply: he would invite other students to join, connect, share ideas, and feel part of a community that values the student voice.

Behind every student ID number in a university system sits a person with goals, ambitions and a future to build. That idea sits at the centre of the initiative. The launch comes as the UAE’s Ministry of Higher Education focuses on outcome-based evaluation, asking how well universities prepare students for the labour market. For students juggling competing priorities, that question is not abstract. It is daily life.

The UAE’s higher education sector serves a mixed crowd. Some learners study fully online. Others balance coursework alongside jobs. Many are returning to education mid-career, hoping to gain new qualifications or move up. In a competitive job market, real-world experience, confidence and peer connection matter just as much as grades, yet they can be hard to find alongside a full course load.

Natalie Burkard, Customer Impact Associate at Ellucian, explained what the community offers students like Muhammad. “One of the reasons we created EnlightenED was to help students bridge the gap between education and employment,” she said. “Students today know they need more than academic knowledge to stand out in a competitive job market. They need opportunities to communicate, collaborate, network, and build confidence in a professional environment.”

Members take part in content creation, thought leadership, research projects, advisory panels and product feedback. One initiative Burkard highlighted is the Student Voices blog series, which lets students write about topics that matter to them, from employability to technology, becoming published contributors while sharpening their writing along the way. There is also a speaker certification built around reflecting on speaking techniques and developing a personal voice. A recently introduced AI-readiness certification responds to what Burkard called a growing employer expectation. Knowing about AI and actually using it at work, she noted, are two different things.

Participation earns points redeemable for rewards like gift cards and exclusive opportunities. One Burkard values most: an hour-long session with a member of Ellucian’s talent acquisition team, where students learn to communicate their skills to employers and handle competency interviews. Members also earn credentials and LinkedIn badges to show future employers.

The community was founded in 2023 by Tara Broadway, who chose the name to reflect its purpose: shining a light on the student experience and making sure student voices get heard. Since then, more than 3,000 students worldwide have taken part. Ellucian says the community has already enhanced student life across many countries.

For institutions, EnlightenED offers a window into what students actually think. Ambassadors may join Ellucian student advisory panels when their institution opts in. Institutions pick the topics that matter to them, developing up to 50 specific questions for students to answer. Those tailored surveys reveal first-hand what students think about new courses, communication tools and technology, and what needs fixing in processes like registration or accessing advice and support. That kind of data matters most during change, when institutions test ideas on the panel and put students at the centre of their strategy.

Ellucian says it has worked with UAE institutions for years, and expansion felt like a natural step, bringing students, institutions and industry closer together. The country’s talent pool, especially in AI, digital infrastructure, healthcare and finance, faces steep competition for graduate roles. Employers increasingly want graduates who can contribute from day one.

Burkard’s vision is a thriving community of student ambassadors across the UAE, developing career-ready skills, building professional networks and shaping higher education from the inside. Ellucian hopes to welcome more students from across the region soon, including Saudi Arabia. For students like Muhammad, though, the goal is simpler: to be asked, listened to, and learned from directly.