SHARJAH, 28th March, 2023 (WAM) — H.H. Dr. Sheikh Sultan bin Muhammad Al Qasimi, Supreme Council Member and Ruler of Sharjah, issued Law No. (2) of 2023 AD regarding the organisation of the Arab Academy for Science, Technology, and Maritime Transport in Sharjah.
According to the Law, the name "Arab Academy for Science, Technology and Maritime Transport in Sharjah", wherever it appears in legislation and all administrative, financial, legal and other transactions, shall be replaced with the following name: "Sharjah Maritime Academy".
The Academy has the legal personality and capacity to achieve its goals and carry out its specialisations.
In addition, it has financial and administrative independence, and its ownership belongs to the Sharjah government.
The Academy aims to achieve the following:
1. To achieve institutional excellence, introducing and developing educational programmes in maritime transport.
2. Supporting and developing the maritime transport sector in the country and preparing qualified national units to work in the field using the latest scientific and practical systems.
3. Support scientific and research activity and promote maritime transport innovation and competitiveness.
4. Strengthening scientific connections and exchanging experiences and information with local and international institutions.
By Law, the Academy, to achieve its objectives, has the following obligations:
1. Develop policies to introduce educational and training programmes in maritime transport.
2. Introduce and develop educational, training, and vocational programmes and take measures to obtain approvals and academic accreditation from the concerned authorities.
3. Provide vocational training programmes in maritime transport.
4. Prepare research and projects in quality maritime transport, in partnership with specialised national and international institutions.
5. Organise and participate in exhibitions, conferences, and events related to maritime transport.
6. Establish strategic partnerships and form cooperation with local and international academic institutions specialising in maritime transport based on the approval of the Sharjah Maritime Academy's Board of Trustees.
7. Promote Sharjah Maritime Academy as a scientific, cultural, national, Arab, and international centre for maritime transport.
8. Prepare and qualify personnel in maritime transport.
9. Develop solid infrastructure for research, education, training, and community awareness via best internationally approved practices.
10. Any other specialisations assigned to Sharjah Maritime Academy by His Highness the Ruler of Sharjah.
Arabic and English are the languages of schooling, with a potential for other languages, at the Sharjah Maritime Academy, as required by the programmes approved by the Board of Trustees.
The Sharjah Maritime Academy is managed by a board of trustees composed of a president and specialised members.
A decision is issued to name them by H.H. the Ruler of Sharjah.
The membership term in the board is three years, with a potential extension for a similar period or periods starting from the date it is set up.
The board shall resume its duties at the end of its term until a new board is formed. Those whose membership term has expired may be re-appointed.
The Board of Trustees is concerned with the following:
1. Develop and approve the Academy's general policies and plans in addition to their implementation and evaluation.
2. Evaluate the Academy's academic, administrative, financial, and infrastructure performance and take the necessary measures.
3. Approve establishing, merging, or canceling branches, scientific centres, and other educational institutions affiliated with the Academy within the UAE and overseas.
4. Approve the appointment of the director, deputy directors, and heads of the Academy branches, the promotion of faculty members, and the organisation of their financial and administrative affairs.
5. Approve offering, merging, or canceling academic and professional programmes.
6. Develop regulatory controls for granting scientific, academic, and professional certificates.
7. Approve the fees collected by the Academy from students in various majors.
8. Approving the annual budget and the final accounts of the Academy and submitting them to the president for approval or taking whatever action the president deems appropriate regarding them.
9. Approve the Academy's financial and administrative regulations.
10. Approve the organisational structure and determine the salary scale for the Academy's faculties.
11. Set up rules and regulations for investing, managing, and disposing of the Academy's funds and supervising its accounts.
12. Determining the Academy's financial rules, accounting systems, and financial operations by internationally recognised standards.
13. Approve contracts, memorandums of understanding, agreements, and partnerships concluded by the Academy.
14. Forming permanent or temporary committees among its members and defining their tasks, terms of reference, and work system.
15. Review and approve the annual report on the Academy's activities and achievements and the annual report of the internal financial auditor.
16. Any other functions assigned to him by the president.
A Director of the Academy shall have appointed by a decision of the president based on the Board of Trustees' approval.
Several deputies and heads of departments shall assist the director in various fields, which are determined according to the Academy's bylaws and regulations approved by the board and the president.
The director works under the supervision of the board and is responsible to it for carrying out the following duties and powers:
1. Implement the Academy's plans, policies, systems, bylaws, and executive decisions after the board approves.
2. Supervise the workflow of the Academy, following the legislation and regulations in force, issuing administrative decisions, and following up on their implementation.
3. Propose the Academy's financial and administrative regulations, the internal work systems, and any amendments thereto, and submit them to the board to take the necessary action.
4. Preside over the academic and administrative departments and work with deans, heads of departments, and all of the Academy's faculties to continuously improve and raise the quality of all the work of the Academy and its outputs.
5. Represent the Academy in local, regional, and international seminars, conferences, meetings, and exhibitions.
6. Represent the Academy in its relations with others and before the courts.
7. Preparing the annual budget and final account and submitting them to the board for approval.
8. Sign memorandums of understanding, agreements, and partnerships after the board approves.
9. Executing the disbursement from the Academy's budget within the approved appropriations following the legislation and regulations in force.
10. Submit periodic reports and recommendations to the board to take what it believes appropriate.
11. Any other functions the Board or the President assigns to the director.
Based on the director's proposal and the board's approval, the president shall issue the bylaws, regulations, and executive decisions necessary to implement the provisions of this law.
The law also stipulates that Law No. (5) of 2020 regarding the organisation of the branch of the Arab Academy for Science, Technology, and Maritime Transport in Sharjah shall be repealed, provided that all regulations, bylaws, and executive decisions issued under it shall continue to be enforced until they are amended or canceled according to this law or the decisions issued according to it.