The Arab International University is a private university that was founded in 2005 by a number of Academics, Arab, Syrian and foreign Business men and trade unions. It was created under Presidential Decree No. 193 Date 06/05/2005. Located on the road between Damascus and Daraa, at about 37 kilometres from Damascus. The whole area of the campus is 711,000 square meters. The AIU future plans involve constructing many other buildings. AIU offers Bachelor degrees and will soon offer Master degrees. It has international exchange programs on various levels – academic, cultural and scientific – with several countries including Germany, Canada, France, and Ireland. AIU was to graduate its first students in the summer of 2009.