ABSTRACT
The COVID-19 pandemic has forced higher education institutions (HEI) in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and globally to become more innovative in their online teaching and learning approach. This chapter presents the conceptual basis for understanding the feasibility of implementing e-learning in the UAE. Rogers’s (2003) diffusion innovation theory is used to assess which factors affect the UAE’s public HEIs’ intention and ability to adopt e-learning during the COVID-19 era. It was found that to lower the complexities the pandemic presents and promote the UAE’s post-crisis growth, public HEIs should rework their traditional higher education system into a blended learning model while safeguarding the UAE’s social and cultural standards for e-learning. Overall, with the observed benefits of increased access and developing a new generation of technologically skilled creative thinkers, the UAE’s advanced infrastructure is equipped and ready to become a global hub for e-learning.
