The Ministry of Higher Education and Scientific Research is participating in the 3rd Government Summit 2015 in Dubai, under the slogan “Shaping Future Governments”. His Excellency the Minister Sheikh Hamdan bin Mubarak Al Nahyan attended the opening of the Summit, and reiterated the importance of the Summit’s initiatives, variety of themes, and sessions, including the education sector.
His Highness General Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi and Deputy Supreme Commander of the Armed Forces, stressed in his opening speech that the UAE, led by His Highness Sheikh Khalifa bin Zayed Al Nahyan, the President of the State, has a comprehensive vision and strategy centered on the development of human resources. His Highness also addressed the importance of the education sector, stressing on the need to invest in the available capabilities of this important sector to shape the future, and pointed out that there are significant challenges to the education sector and a need for clear vision of the strategy of education for the next 25 years and the development of future human resources. As His Highness is the Chairman of Abu Dhabi Education Council, he is leading a pioneering experience in the development of education to make the Emirate of Abu Dhabi achieve a knowledge-based economy. His Highness’s key speech at this year’s Summit was a unique opportunity for the participants, who represent the governments of 87 countries, to listen to the visions, plans, and ambitions of one of the most prominent leaders in the region, and the most important developmental experiences in the world.
A round table of the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) was held to discuss the most important variables that influence the new generation of Governments. The Mohammed bin Rashid School of Government, in collaboration with the Lee Kuan Yew School of Public Policy, is organizing a panel discussion on the drafting of “Smart Policies” to create an innovative government sector. The session touches on the role of academic institutions and colleges of government administration in support of the decision-making process and promoting a culture of innovation within government work system, and representatives of 9 prestigious universities and international academic institution in Singapore, Germany, the USA, China, Australia, the UK, and the UAE are participating in this session.
The Summit also hosts a high school student in one of the sessions, who has one of the most important scientific inventions at the age of 14, as he invented a device for converting carbon dioxide to oxygen, and he will talk about the most important motives for innovation in education and his own experience.
The schedule of the Government Summit include 50 sessions, more than 100 speakers, and 3,000 participants from 87 countries, in order to discuss the future of innovation in governments, education services, health, and smart cities. The Summit is held in partnership with the United Nations, the World Bank, the World Economic Forum in Davos, and the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development.
It is noteworthy that the UAE University is organizing, on the sidelines of the third day of the Summit, a meeting for the presidents of Gulf and Arab universities, in order to discuss innovation in higher education, and address the world’s most important practices in this area, as well as topics related to research policies and recent trends in the field of patents and mechanisms to stimulate innovation among university and college students, and universities in the GCC countries, Egypt, Sudan, Morocco, and Iraq are participating in this meeting.
