ABU DHABI, 13th May, 2023 (WAM) – H.H. Sheikh Abdullah bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Minister of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation and Chairman of the Education and Human Resources Council, launched the Higher Colleges of Technology (HCT)'s new strategy under the theme ‘’We design Future''. during a visit to the HCT Dubai Men's campus.
The HCT's new strategy was rolled out in the presence of Dr. Ahmad Belhoul Al Falasi, Minister of Education, Dr Abdulrahman Al-Awar, UAE Minister of Human Resources and Emiratisation, and HCT Chancellor, Dr. Faisal Al Ayyan, HCT President and CEO, and a number of senior HCT officials.
The strategy seeks to draw a new work roadmap for applied education model in alignment with the UAE leadership's vision for building Emirati human resources that equipped with high skills, proficiency and readiness in order to respond efficiently to rapid changes and transformations and sharpen the country's competitiveness for building a sustainable economy.
H.H. Sheikh Abdullah said:''Investing in human development has been one of the basic foundations in the UAE journey since the establishment of the federation, as well as in its forward-looking vision for the future.''
H.H. affirmed the UAE leadership's support for all development plans and initiatives for higher education institutions, which aim to improve the quality of educational services in accordance with international performance and evaluation standards, in order to produce distinguished national outputs with qualitative skills and capabilities that meet the needs of future jobs and the requirements of the priority industrial and vital sectors in the country.
Sheikh Abdullah was briefed by the HCT Chancellor, Dr. Faisal Al Ayyan, about the strategic transformations taking place in the HCT, saying that the aim of the new strategy is to make a paradigm shift in the concept of applied education through three core pillars: Inclusion, sustainability and integrity.
Dr. Al Ayyan said the 2023 – 2028 strategy will lend attention to “applied education” in order to achieve more focus on educational goals and vocational training programs, introduce new programs that meet the labor market demand, and in accordance with the standards of international applied education institutions.
Dr. Al Ayyan announced that the new academic year 2023 – 2024 will see the registration in five basic programs: health sciences, business administration, engineering and science technology, computer and information sciences, and education. ‘’With the launch of the new tracks, it is expected that more than 8,000 students will be admitted, an increase of about 31 percent compared to the previous academic year,'' he added
Sheikh Abdullah was also briefed about the new HCT Bani Yas campus in Abu Dhabi which will welcome more than 10,000 students in the new academic year.
H.H. also witnessed the ceremony for signing cooperation agreements with 11 strategic partners to the HCT.