West Asia conflict: IIMA relocates 35 Dubai MBA students to Ahmedabad amid war fears

The Indian Institute of Management, Ahmedabad (IIMA) has brought its first batch of MBA students from its Dubai campus due to the ongoing war in West Asia. The institute stated that the decision was made to ensure the safety of the students until the situation stabilizes.

"In light of the ongoing conflict in the Middle East, the Institute decided to bring students of the IIMA Dubai campus’ One-Year MBA programme to our Ahmedabad campus," the institute told DH in a statement.

Most of the 35 students who are either Indians or have India origins have been shifted to its Ahmedabad campus in view of the ongoing conflict. The students are from the first batch of IIMA's inaugural international campus, which was launched in September 2025, located at Dubai International Academic City.

At the time of its launch, the institute had announced that the "pioneer batch of the full-time one-year MBA programme" consisted of 35 students, including 27 male and 8 female students.

"At the time the conflict escalated, all the students of the current IIMA Dubai cohort were already in Europe for their international immersion programme. From there, they have been directly brought to the IIM Ahmedabad campus starting this week," the institute stated. 

It further added, "...this step has been taken as a temporary arrangement to ensure safety of our students and continuity of their academic activities until the condition stabilises."