The Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) has unveiled a new partnership with the Dubai Institute of Design and Innovation (DIDI) to aid the launch of a new design-orientated undergraduate educational institution in the UAE capital. The collaboration will run through the School of Architecture and Planning and the DIDI’s new Creative Community building.

DIDI is due to officially open this 100,000-square-foot facility in 2019. Designed by British practice Foster + Partners, the Creative Community building will cater for 550 students. It aims to coalesce students across various disciplines as part of a “dynamic environment.” Meanwhile, Norman Foster’s firm has described it as a “mega studio.”

Foster + Partners are also working on the Dubai Design District (d3) masterplan where DIDI’s new home will be located. The area promises to offer a hipster vibe as the firm drew inspiration from New York’s Meatpacking District and East London’s Shoreditch.

As part of the first design-focused undergraduate degree in Dubai, DIDI’s program will touch on disciplines relating to industrial design, arts, media, and fashion. Both MIT’s School of Architecture and Planning and The New School’s Parsons School of Design in New York has made agreements with DIDI to help form the curriculum.

According to a press release, MIT’s and DIDI’s agreement will pave the way for future cross-collaboration initiatives and activities. These will come from the faculty in the School of Architecture and Planning, including the Media Lab and other departments and centers.

“We’ve witnessed the immense potential of design-oriented disciplines to contribute to and transform culture and society,” said J. Meejin Yoon, professor and head of the Department of Architecture. “Our faculty are excited to work with our counterparts at DIDI to build the new institution and its foundational curriculum and look forward to the impact this unique institution will yield on design education and industry locally and globally.”