Abu Dhabi: Forty Emirati high-school students out of over 700, all eager to work in the transportation field, have received a scholarship from the Abu Dhabi Education Council (Adec).
The Department of Transport (DoT) and the Adec have signed a Memorandum of Understanding to sponsor the students to complete their bachelors degree in transportation engineering and a masters degree in transportation management and planning at the Abu Dhabi Higher Colleges of Technology (HCT).
During their four-year period of study, students will also be completing their internships at the DoT and will be officially employed with the DoT upon graduation.
The initiative is in line with the Abu Dhabi Economic Vision 2030, which focuses on investing in human resources to reach sustainable social and economic development.
Adec has so far offered scholarships to students in engineering, medicine and business (finance, accounting and human resources) and plans in the near future to offer a scholarship in urban planning.
Mona Al Mansoori, Manager of the Guidance and Scholarship Division at the Adec, told Gulf News that meeting the criteria involved in receiving a scholarship is not easy.
"After a filtration process which included scoring higher than 85 per cent in high school and applying to a university defined by the Adec, students were interviewed by the Adec and had to pass a psychometric exam," said Al Mansoori, who added that those 40 students are ready to start their academic journey at HCT on Sunday.
Dr Mugheer Khamis Al Khaili, Director General of the Adec said: "This programme is designed to benefit students by supporting their academic careers and professional development, it also advances our nations development by providing graduates with the specific skills required in our workforce."
Abdullah Rashed Al Otaiba, Chairman of the DoT, emphasised that the initiative is very important since it will help students play an active role in developing one of the region's most ambitions transportation systems.
"We all have high expectations for the scholars to actively participate in the programme in order to achieve its goals," he said.
