The “Ministry of Higher Education And Scientific Research” celebrated the (44th) National Day, in the Ministry’s building in “Abu Dhabi”, with the participation of all departments’ employees. His Excellency Sheikh “Hamdan Bin Mubarak Al Nahyan”, Minister of Higher Education and Scientific Research, said “on the (44th) National Day of the beloved UAE, I and all the employees of the Ministry of Higher Education and Scientific Research are honored to give our congratulations to his Highness Sheikh Khalifa bin Zayed Al Nahyan, President of the State, his Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, UAE Vice President, Prime Minister and Ruler of Dubai, and their Highnesses the Rulers of the Emirates, praying to Almighty that sustains the wise leadership, and lavish opulence on the UAE people with pride and goodness”. His Excellency added that the State celebrates its National Day this year while on the threshold of a new phase of a series of stages of development and successive achievements, which was promised before international forums, in light of local, regional and international data and targeting development, well-being and dignified and decent living to all humanity, and this is a stage of implementing and embodying the goals after 2015-2030, to complement the achievement witnessed by the United Nations in its assessment of the achievement of the Millennium Development Goals by the State, as well as the achievement on the advanced rankings achieved by the UAE in the various indicators, which continue day after day, most recently, the Ministry of Higher Education And Scientific Research in the State achieved first place globally in “tertiary inbound mobility of students in higher education institutions index”, in the Global Innovation Index Report 2015, published by “INSEAD” business school, stressing that the Ministry on this day promises the homeland that it will continue its usual approach with hard work within the other federal ministries and agencies to implement the State’s agenda in harmony and complementarity, and provide the State with qualified national cadres with high potential to achieve the aspiration of Emiratis and their leaders in the sustainable development of UAE economy and society, and to make our country one of the best in innovative to reach the UAE Vision 2021. The “Ministry of Higher Education and Scientific Research”, seeks upon the directives of his Excellency the Minister “Sheikh Hamdan Bin Mubarak Al Nahyan”, towards leadership in higher education, and to contribute to making the State one of the best in innovation internationally by 2021, through the formulation of the Strategic Plan (2017-2021), in accordance with national directives including the UAE’s National Agenda 2021-2015, and to continue its approach in creativity, innovation and excellence that is going to contribute to provide the State with the qualified cadres, resources and expertise required to Emiratize the future UAE labor market, this approach recently culminated in the Ministry of Higher Education and Scientific Research was ranked in first place globally in “tertiary inbound mobility of students in higher education institutions index”, in the Global Innovation Index Report 2015, published by “INSEAD” business school in November 2015, this achievement is the culmination of several successive achievements under the directives of his Excellency the Minister Sheikh “Hamdan Bin Mubarak Al Nahyan”, the State ranks first globally in students mobility into the State index in the Global Innovation Report 2014, and according to the World Competitiveness Yearbook 2014 the State was also ranked in 14th place in the quality and level of business colleges index, and ranked in12th place in quality indicator of the level of higher education, ranked 34 in the proportion of students on scholarship abroad, ranked 41 in the achievements of higher education index, ranked 52 in STEM certificates index, the State also in 2014, ranked first among Arab countries, and the third within North Africa and West Asia, and 36 globally, including 143 economies, and using 81 indexes. According to the publisher of the report, the countries that have made progress in the Global Innovation Index managed to create innovative environments characterized by good cohesion, since the investment in human capital built on a solid innovation infrastructure will contribute to in increasing the levels of creativity, which requires the support and encouragement of creative students and researchers to turn their ideas into projects to be applied in reality, and contribute to the realization of added value and the development of the sectors concerned, the Ministry had launched in June 2015 “Pioneers Innovation Award”, to support and develop research capacity building of UAE students in higher education institutions within and outside the UAE State. Quality standards and academic accreditation Out of the keenness of the “Ministry of Higher Education And Scientific Research” on student enrolment in accredited and licensed institutions in the State, according to the highest international standards, and to ensure that best output with specialties that match the future UAE labor market requirements, the Commission of Academic Accreditation of the Ministry constantly reviews the consistency of learning outcomes to the academic programs submitted for accreditation with the corresponding level descriptions for each national qualifications system, the Commission of Academic Accreditation during 2015 has licensed a number of institutions and accredited a number of programs with a total of (79) licensed educational institutions, and (863) accredited programs. Integration and partnerships The Ministry works sustainably to modernization its strategic indicators according to the objectives and features of the strategy of the Federal Government, and works on providing databases and statistical reports to help in decision-making and local policy formulation in different sectors of the State, it also works on the integration and coordination between higher education institutions through the “Coordinating Council for Higher Education and Scientific Research” through which the “Innovation Committee for Higher Education” was formed, which organized the first and second forums for higher education policies and those resulted in several important recommendations, which the authorities concerned will implement the with follow-up of the Ministry. The Ministry is also working on building partnerships and coordination with countries, organizations, bodies and institutions to support higher education and scientific research. At the level of States, the Ministry coordinated during 2015 with India, Portugal, Ecuador, Tajikistan, Nicaragua, Afghanistan, Pakistan, Russia, Senegal, Spain, Belarus, Montenegro, Malta, Tunisia and Algeria, and at the institution level, the Ministry coordinated with Dubai Police, Abu Dhabi Police GHQ, Abu Dhabi Education Council, His Highness Rulers Court (DIWAN) Dubai, Abu Dhabi Water and Electricity Authority, Dubai Electricity and Water Authority, Abu Dhabi National Oil Company, Ministry of Health, Investment Authority, Tawazun Holding, Etihad Airways, the Ministry of Education, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Embassy of Japan in the State, Mubadala Development Company, and Dubai Health Authority. Several Memoranda of Understanding were also signed during the period (October 2014- October 2015), with India, Morocco, Poland, Romania, New Zealand and Ethiopia. The Ministry has organized several forums to promote cooperation with several embassies, such as the embassies of China, Portugal, Kazakhstan and Poland. Scholarship system Scholarships are one of the most important tools of the Ministry to support the output of the education system as an important element in the sustainable development process, by preparing future leaders to meet the needs of the State through the management of scholarships to citizens efficiently. To achieve this, the Ministry has formed the “National Committee for Scholarships”, and in this context, the Ministry has signed Memoranda of Understanding with several authorities within the State with the aim that the Ministry to follow up on their students abroad, such as; Abu Dhabi Education Council, His Highness Rulers Court (DIWAN) Dubai, Diwan H.H. Sheikh Sultan Bin Zayed Al Nahyan, UAE University, the Ministry also signed several Memorandums Of Understanding on the provision of employment opportunities for scholarship students with Tawazun Holding, DUCAB Manufacturing Company and UAE Space Agency. The Ministry sends its students to study rare scientific disciplines compatible with the UAE’s Science, Technology and Innovation Policy at top international universities, and in countries that have advanced degrees in world rankings for innovation, such as the United States, United Kingdom, Sweden, Australia, New Zealand, South Korea, France, Switzerland, Japan, Canada, Ireland and Spain. (228) students have been awarded scholarships during October 2014- October 2015 to complete their undergraduate and postgraduate studies, (25.9%) of them to study Engineering Sciences, (12.7%) of them to study Medical Sciences, and the rest to study other disciplines. During the same period, (222) male and female students graduated, (156) of them received Bachelor’s degrees, (57) of them received Master’s degrees, and (7) PhD degrees, and one student got board certified and fellowship. Smart services and five star rating His Excellency the Minister “Hamdan Bin Mubarak Al Nahyan” opened in June 2015 the first phase of the electronic portal of the Ministry, which includes an integrated system of electronic and smart services according to both the federal and international standards. The Portal includes; the National Scholars Portal, the National Scholarship Database, Electronic guide of the educational institutions in the UAE, specialized and integrated to help students and provide them with the information and data related to those institutions, in addition to the unified admission services, certificates equivalency, and attestation, and a request of to whom it may concern letter on the accredited higher education institutions within the State, request reconsideration of the decision of the Certificate Equivalency Committee, if it refused to equalize a certificate the customer can attach documentation electronically so they don’t have to visit the Customer Service Centers of the Ministry in Dubai and Abu Dhabi, unless it is necessary. The Customer Service Centers won this year respectively five stars and four stars in the Global Star Rating System for Services 2015, where the two centers offered during the first ten months of the year 2015 their services to (41231) customers, several services provided by the centers were added, including; financial guarantee delivery service for scholarship students abroad, receiving ticket requests, issuance of to whom it may concern for governmental and private institutions of the accredited programs, in addition to this the free bus service to transfer customers in Abu Dhabi from the public parking to the Ministry building, and extending the working hours until 5 p.m. to provide outstanding services and achieve customer satisfaction. The Ministry was keen to provide all its services either electronically or via the Customer Service Center. Social responsibility In fulfillment of its social responsibility, the Ministry stands behind issues in support of the development of the various sectors of the UAE community, so it seeks to integrate and enable people with special needs in all sectors of society, the empowerment of women and their role in the knowledge economy and entrepreneurship, and consolidates environmental and health awareness in all its fields, through holding events, seminars and activities that serve it, in addition to its contribution in maintaining the language, identity and religion.