Manipal Academy of Higher Education (MAHE) Dubai has partnered with Odoo Middle East DMCC to integrate open-source business software into its engineering and IT curriculum. The collaboration provides students with access to Odoo’s source code, industry-led hackathons, and a structured ‘Class to Career’ programme connecting graduates with employment opportunities within Odoo’s regional partner network.
Odoo has developed more than 40 core business applications spanning CRM, e-commerce, accounting, inventory, point of sale and project management, supported by a global community of over 8,000 active contributors who have built more than 30,000 additional apps. Through its worldwide network of Odoo Partners, classified as Ready, Silver, or Gold based on their expertise, the company connects businesses of every size, from single-user start-ups to enterprises with over 300,000 users, to the Odoo ecosystem.
Under the MoU, Odoo will provide MAHE Dubai with complimentary access to, and installation support for, the Odoo source code, along with industry-focused workshops for students and faculty and access to Odoo’s learning and teaching materials. The collaboration is also designed to support Odoo Source Code hackathons and Odoo Capstone Projects centred on real-world industry challenges proposed by Odoo and its Partners. It further includes a Class to Career Program that introduces students who become highly proficient on the Odoo platform, functionally or technically, to Odoo Partners across the region for employment opportunities. Odoo will not charge any fee at any point for services and resources provided under the Education Program, and the partnership will run for an initial three years from the date of signing.
The collaboration sits within MAHE Dubai’s School of Engineering & IT, where it will feed into coursework and applied capstone projects linked to enterprise software and business process automation. Faculty and students will have access to the Odoo source code for educational purposes, enabling deeper technical engagement than is typically possible with proprietary business software.
For Dr. Balamurugan Balusamy, Dean, School of Engineering & IT, MAHE Dubai, the value of the collaboration lies in its practical application: “Open-source platforms like Odoo allow students to move beyond the theory of enterprise resource planning and actually build, customise and troubleshoot business applications the way developers do in industry. By embedding Odoo’s source code and capstone projects into our engineering and IT programmes, we are giving students a practical, employable skill set in ERP and business application development. Just as importantly, the Class to Career Program gives our strongest students a direct line to Odoo’s Partner network, turning classroom proficiency into real employment opportunities.”
Ms. Shreya Ilango, Technical Education Consultant for Middle East and North Africa (MENA) at Odoo, described the collaboration as an extension of the company’s education mission: “By connecting classrooms to industry, we aim to upskill the next generation of software developers and computer science graduates before they even embark on their careers. Odoo’s Education Program was built precisely for partnerships like this one, giving students free, direct access to our source code and to the same tools used by our Partners and customers around the world. We look forward to working closely with MAHE Dubai’s School of Engineering & IT on workshops and capstone projects that give students real, practical experience with Odoo, and to helping our strongest graduates find their first roles within our regional Partner network.”
The partnership comes as the UAE continues to invest in building a future-ready technology workforce and encouraging closer ties between higher education and industry. Through this partnership, MAHE Dubai and Odoo aim to equip students with practical experience using enterprise software deployed by organisations worldwide, strengthening graduate employability while supporting the UAE’s ambition to develop a future-ready technology workforce.
