I would like to welcome all students, faculty members, and staff to the new 2022-2023 academic year. 

As we emerge from the COVID pandemic and return to face-to-face classes and meetings, HCT’s Campus of Tomorrow will continue to be characterized by innovations selected to add value to all stakeholders.  As the UAE’s largest applied higher educational institution, we will strive to build on our strong foundation of technologically infused ‘learning by doing’ in the upcoming year.

In order to gain meaningful employment after graduation, a degree or certificate is no longer sufficient.  Students must also have relevant experience and demonstrate work readiness to potential employers.  Experiential learning and competency-based education can help to fill this gap, and HCT has recognized this since its inception.  Our curriculum must include a strong focus on skill-based and workplace learning, including essential soft skills, with an academic core.  We must strive to incorporate more ‘hands on’ learning into our curriculum to strengthen HCT’s experiential offerings with an ultimate goal of improving the students’ experience and better preparing them for the workplace.  We will also work to strengthen our links with relevant industries, as an essential component of ensuring graduate employability and employment.

This catalog is a source of important information on HCT’s programs, majors, courses, professional certifications, academic regulations, graduation requirements and more.  Thus, I encourage students to include this catalog in their collection of essential HCT resources, which should also include the Student Handbook, Methaq and Academic Advising booklets, student e-services, and the MyHCT app.

I urge all of you to make the most of your time at HCT: be determined, set goals and never stop working to improve yourself by investing your time in activities beneficial to you, your families and your communities.  Involve yourself in HCT’s well-established community service, volunteering, and extra-curricular activities.  All members of HCT are here to support our students in making progress towards their academic goals, and I encourage students to seek input and assistance, as needed, during this year. 

May God bless us all as we work together towards a successful and meaningful 2022-23 academic year.

Dr Faisal Alayyan
President & CEO
Higher Colleges of Technology