Given the importance of the roles played by the Coordinating Council for Higher Education Institutions in support of cooperation and coordination between institutions of higher education, and in order to provide an evolving educational system in accordance with the highest international standards, His Excellency Sheikh Hamdan Bin Mubarak Al Nahyan, Minister of Higher Education and Scientific Research, was keen to emphasize the importance of holding the second meeting of the Council on Tuesday, September 16th, 2014.
During the meeting, the project system of the Coordinating Council, which will be used as a tool in tracking the functions of the members of the Council, was presented, in addition to visual presentations about the achievements of the work teams containing the draft action plans proposed for the Coordinating Council teams, the team members, the outputs required of each team, and the delivery dates. The meeting agenda also included a presentation by Dr. Ali Rashid Al Noaimi, UAE University Vice Chancellor, on the academic calendar for the next two academic years, 2014/2015 and 2015/2016. As for the subject of scholarships at the public universities of different countries, it was presented by the Ministry of Higher Education and Scientific Research.
His Excellency Sheikh Hamdan bin Mubarak Al Nahyan, Chairman of the Council, has stressed on several occasions the importance of this cooperation and coordination in order to achieve integration and lack of conflict in the message set for each institution, which will lead to the achievement of the Ministry’s goals in an effective and integrated system of higher education in the State.
It is noteworthy that the first meeting of the Council was held in June this year. During the meeting, presentations were made on the tasks and role of the Council, the suggested special teams of the Council, and the tasks and responsibilities of NAPO, in addition to the tasks and responsibilities of the Commission for Academic Accreditation and its role in the assessment and classification of universities.
It is worth mentioning that the Council was established by the UAE Cabinet in May 2014, with the aim of overseeing the strategic plans for the public and private institutions of higher education, coordination among them, promoting the joint collaborative initiatives between public and private institutions of higher education and the Ministry of Higher Education and Scientific Research, and studying and suggesting the initiatives and developmental projects and plans for the higher education sector, in order to upgrade the level of education and scientific research, and achieve the UAE vision to have a higher education sector of high level.
The decision of the UAE Cabinet, under the chairmanship of His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, UAE Vice President, Prime Minister, and Ruler of Dubai, to approve the formation of a coordinating council for higher education and scientific research, is considered a pioneering step to achieve the objectives of the national agenda announced by His Highness, and the promotion of smart scientific research and higher education can only be achieved through a council that unites the efforts according to the UAE vision. Therefore, the Council has played an active role in the consolidation of these efforts, and the development of performance indicators to push higher education forward.
