The difficulty is not to succeed, but to preserve the success. The “Ministry of Higher Education and Scientific Research” received the New Year 2014 while holding the responsibility, as a federal entity active in the pursuit of the knowledge economy and sustainable development. Without the concerted efforts of the State, the Government, ministries, institutions and individuals, those achievements would not have transpired, and the State would not have reached those indicators which need a broad base of national personnel trained and qualified in all areas like the cadres of the Ministry who during the (22) years of work managed to harness all the possibilities and resources for its naturalization and achieving its vision for the UAE of the future.
The achievements of 2013 are numerous, but it is worth mentioning winning the bid to host the “World Expo 2020”, the inauguration of “Al Maktoum International Airport” at “Dubai World Central”, the launch of “Shams1” concentrated solar power project in the western region, the UAE ranking (25) internationally in “Networked Readiness Index” and its successful bid to host the “World Skill 2017″Competition, according to the “World Bank” report “Doing Business 2014” the UAE is ranked first regionally and fourth globally in facilitating cross-border trade, and was elected to membership of the “IAEA Board of Governors” for the period (2013-2015) .
All these achievements require infrastructure in the higher education and scientific research sector, future strategic planning with vision and the confidence of the high returns when investing in education and investing in the Emirati student, as well as keeping pace with technological developments and global changes. So the Minister of Higher Education and Scientific Research Sheikh “Hamdan Bin Mubarak Al Nahyan” has always stressed that the Ministry will not stop its ambition or achievements, and emphasized the Ministry’s efforts to maintain competitive positions achieved by the State’s higher education sector in 2012, as it is the first in the global index of the number of students in higher education, the third in enrolment in higher education from outside the State and the eighth in the students’ movement into the State. Reaching these positions necessarily means to continue the quest to reach additional indicators. The education and higher education sectors were allocated (21%) of the total budget in 2014.
The Minister approved decisions to achieve progress and keep up with the change, like the approval on the ministerial decision on “Distance Education (Electronic Learning), to keep up with developments in the field of higher education, and the ministerial decision No. (212) on amending the “Certification Equivalency” for 2013, to keep up-to-date with the academic world, his Excellency also issued a ministerial resolution on the formation of the “National Committee for Scholarships and Grants Coordination” to organizing system of scholarships and fellowships and ensure coordination between the authorities giving scholarships in the State, and to ensure the coordination of the scholarship policy with the needs of the labor market, and to focus on rare scientific disciplines, where (350) male and female students were awarded scholarship in 2013 to complete their undergraduate and graduate studies abroad in more than (40) specialties. The number of scholarships awarded during the period (2000-2013) reached (7500) students, with (2349) students graduating in the period (2000-2012).
The Ministry also sought to accredit programs and disciplines needed by the labor market which its systems and strategies are under the best international quality standards which makes the UAE the fourth most attractive educational destination for students seeking to pursue their studies abroad. As the number of licensed private higher education institutions reached (83), offering (732) accredited program.
