Heriot-Watt's  £35m campus (Right: artist's impression) is to locate in in the state of Dubai and will include student accommodation with food court, banking facilities, multi-purpose auditorium for 800 people, engineering laboratories, ICT labs video-conferencing and fashion and design studios.

The science and technology specialist University, it already awards almost half of all Scottish degrees to overseas students –  most delivered through partner institutions. It is trebling its student numbers in the Middle East, from 1,500 to 4,500 next year –  facing a tight cap on numbers at home.

Edinburgh's Napier University has opened a biofuel research centre in Hong Kong within the last few months and an office in India last year. The new centre will focus on the development of renewable energy via second-generation biofuels from a diverse range of non-food crops and waste matter – waste disposal being a particular issue for the crowded island of Hong Kong.

Glasgow Caledonian has opened its campus in London to attract international post-graduates to its range of the university's specialist postgraduate courses – in finance, risk management and fashion starting this September, as well as a nursing college in Bangladesh.

GCU's Grameen Caledonian Nursing College in Bangladesh – a country that trains more doctors than nurses – accepted its first 40 students this year. Criteria for entry are students should be female, aged 20-22,  have achieved well in science at school, and be the daughters of Grameen Bank borrowers.

The university already operates the Caledonian College of Engineering in Oman, which has almost 3,000 students as well as an eye clinic in Sighthill, Glasgow, aimed at diagnosing early conditions that cause preventable blindness.

The university, with strong links with Nobel peace prize winner and anti-poverty expert Muhammad Yunus, is currently in talks about opening the first Grameen microfinance bank in the UK in the deprived area of Sighthill based on a model devised by Yunus in Bangladesh, and targeted at the poorest in society.

How Max Planck expanded to Florida

(Above: The Science Tunnel: an exhibition of the Max Planck Society made its US debut in Palm Beach county at the South Florida Science Museum as  part of the prestigious Max Planck Society  in Germany.)

The Max Planck Florida Institute is the first and only institute of its kind in North America.  Situated in the new biosciences cluster in scenic Palm Beach County in south Florida, the MPFI seeks to provide a vibrant, interactive environment where scientists are provided generous ongoing support to conduct high impact research at the cutting edge.

Palm Beach County business development board president and (right) CEO Kelly Smallridge, anticipates that the research organisation will support the creation of more than 1,800 jobs, both directly and indirectly, over the next two decades, and generate more than $2bn in economic activity.

The new $45m Max Planck Florida Institute is located adjacent to the Scripps Research Institute and the FAU MacArthur Campus and Honors College. Sharing the Vision for the facility was the theme lead by Dr Peter Gruss, President of the Max Planck Society of a state-of-the-art building for bio-sensing and bio-imaging research.

“One of the major reasons I was attracted to the Max Planck Florida Institute is the appeal of Florida and its emerging role as the new frontier for bioscience in the United States,” says newly appointed Chief Science Facilities officer (left) Ivan C Baines.

“There’s a sound concentration of more than 200 biotech companies already established around the state, and combined with a diverse university system, top-tier research institutes and the beautiful weather, this is an ideal place for science to thrive.”