Abu Dhabi: Shaikh Abdullah Bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Minister of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation and Chairman of the Education and Human Resources Council, on Monday presided the first meeting of the Higher Education and Private Sector Council, an initiative formed under the ‘Relevance’ pillar of the National Higher Education Strategy, which was approved by the UAE Cabinet in 2017.
Hosted by the Ministry of Education, the council brought together leading global private companies to better align labour market needs with higher education outcomes.
Shaikh Abdullah opened the meeting and shared a vision to lay down a road map, which would enable UAE students to compete internationally, in line with the national priority of human development established by the late Shaikh Zayed Bin Sultan Al Nahyan, the founding father of the nation,
“The UAE has attained its global position as a result of its unwavering belief in the role of education for the advancement and prosperity of our people. In line with our Founding Father’s legacy, our leaders continue to invest in human capital through education, creating a sustainable model which encompasses all phases of the educational journey, and represents a core element of the UAE Centennial 2071 vision,” Shaikh Abdullah said.
He added: “In this era of accelerated technological advancement and innovation, we must bolster our efforts and sustain them by increasing collaboration between different stakeholders.”
One of the key outcomes of the first council meeting was the signing of memoranda of understanding with six leading private sector companies such as DP World, Emirates Group, Etihad Aviation Group, Mubadala Investment Company, Siemens and Schlumberger.
The MoUs will include the creation of 50 international internship opportunities for top-performing students. Together, the attending members also expressed commitment to creating 1,000 elite internship opportunities for UAE students locally.
A number of task forces were proposed and agreed to by members and will address four key areas — research and innovation, design of academic programmes, professional placement, and advanced skills. Taskforces will use distinct metrics to evaluate the progress of their efforts.
