Licensed nationally by the Ministry of Higher Education and Scientific Research, UD became the first private University in Dubai to hold the AACSB international accreditation in 2009, maintaining for further 5 years till 2019, as well as the first private university in the UAE to hold the ABET-CAC accreditation for its Computing and Information Systems (BS) program in 2006. The curriculum is aligned with international professional certification bodies such as Institute of Leadership & Management (ILM)-UK, which awards BBA HRM and MBA Leadership & HRM graduates with level 5 and 7 certifications. Similarly, the curriculum is aligned with Islamic Economy, Smart City, Innovation and Entrepreneurship initiatives of the government with IBM partnership.