In 2019 we embarked on a new phase in the life of the Higher Colleges of Technology, guided by the vision of the UAE’s wise leadership, in which we reinforced the HCT’s success as the UAE’s largest applied higher education institution over the past 30 years. It is also an important period, in which we redirected our pathway to further success, in line with the national aspirations and visions, by empowering students to cope with challenges and changes related to the future of work, arising from the 4th Industrial Revolution and the unprecedented growth of Artificial Intelligence. To this end, we have launched HCT 4.0 - a new strategic plan which aims to empower HCT students to become technical leaders in vital sectors, and encourage them to become entrepreneurs and innovators, based on the principle of “Education for All”.

The HCT has transformed this ambitious plan into reality, being reflected in the strategic partnerships established with about 22 international awarding bodies to award professional certificates to HCT students enrolled in the 84 majors offered under the six academic divisions. The professional certificates will enhance graduates’ work readiness, who will become technical leaders equipped with future skills, while supporting HCT’s continuous efforts to obtain international academic accreditation for all its programs.

Today, our academic programs focus on innovation and entrepreneurship, after the HCT became the first higher education institution to be declared as a free economic and creative zone, in line with Article Six of the 50-Year Charter, launched by His Highness Sheikh Mohammed Bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice President and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai, which directs UAE universities to become free economic and creative zones that graduate companies and entrepreneurs. Based on this new direction, His Highness Sheikh Abdullah Bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Minister of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation, inaugurated the first free economic and creative zone in the HCT-Dubai Men’s campus. Additional free zones will be inaugurated in other HCT campuses, with the aim of providing an integrated environment for the incubation of ideas; eventually leading to graduating companies and entrepreneurs.

This quantum leap forward in education empowers HCT to nurture graduates who will become “specialized technical leaders” and “entrepreneurs”, as well as creating graduate “national companies”. As part of this process, the HCT will award its students with Diploma, Higher Diploma and Bachelor degrees to provide the industry with technicians, technologists and professionals who represent a large segment of society that contributes to our nation’s economic growth, in line with the various opportunities available in today’s labour market.

Dr Abdullatif Al Shamsi
President & CEO
Higher Colleges of Technology