Twenty-four participants from higher education providers from across the United Arab Emirates (UAE) have successfully completed a one-year National Leadership Academy, a programme funded by the Ministry of Education, UAE, and developed in partnership with Advance HE.
The participants, who included staff from academic and professional services backgrounds, were congratulated in person by His Excellency Dr Ahmad Belhoul Al Falasi, Minister of Education, His Excellency Dr Mohammad Al Mualla, Undersecretary for Higher Education Academic Affairs at the Ministry of Education, as well as other senior officials at a ceremony in Dubai earlier this week [25 June].
The ceremony included an address from The Minister, the presentation of awards, presentations from programme participants, the sharing of case studies, impact assessments and networking to establish future opportunities for ‘sharing and learning’.
The National Leadership Academy has been established to ensure that the higher education sector in the UAE has a group of leaders at mid and senior executive levels who are equipped with the leadership skills to help deliver the four pillars of the Ministry’s Higher Education Strategy 2030 (Quality, Efficiency, Innovation and Harmonisation).
In his speech, His Excellency Dr Ahmad Belhoul Al Falasi congratulated the graduates, highlighting this as a "crucial step in their journey toward continuous learning, creativity and innovation". He emphasised their role in supporting society by elevating the UAE's higher education sector and enhancing its competitiveness locally, regionally and internationally.
His Excellency Dr Al Falasi said: “We at the Ministry of Education are dedicated to developing Emirati talent in education, as demonstrated by the National Leadership Academy for Higher Education.
"Today, we have successfully empowered creative energies and built leaders equipped with the knowledge, skills and innovative thinking needed to excel in academic and administrative roles in public higher education, which aligns with the government's national priorities.
"The programme also prepares graduates to contribute to a pioneering, successful and proactive future education system, supporting the UAE's development vision."
Attending the ceremony for Advance HE, Anne Moore, Assistant Director, International Solutions, said, “It has been a great privilege to work with the UAE’s Ministry of Education to develop and deliver this programme.
“The programme has established a national community of practice and peer-to-peer support for higher education leadership. These leaders from HEIs across UAE have worked individually and collaboratively to improve their leadership knowledge, skills and capabilities. The implementation of change projects in HEIs by participants, with clear strategic objectives and measurable impact, has been commendable.
"I am confident that the development of leadership capabilities and strategic planning will be a very significant contribution to the delivery of the national strategy for HE 2030.”
Participants included representatives from the following organisations: United Arab Emirates University, Zayed University, Khalifa University, Abu Dhabi Polytechnic, Rabdan Academy, Emirates College for Advanced Education, Higher Colleges of Technology, University of Sharjah, Ajman University, Hamdan bin Mohammed Smart University and the Ministry of Education.