"Higher education" Promotes integration between universities and economic and industrial sectors
ABU DHABI, May 24 / WAM / The Ministry of Higher Education and Scientific Research, represented by the Working Group for Partnership between Economic Sectors and Higher Education Institutions emanating from the Advisory Committee for Higher Education and Future Skills, organized the event “Building Bridges of Cooperation between the Economic Sector and Academia” through visual communication technologies, in cooperation with the Ministry of Human Resources and Emiratisation, and with the participation of 60 representatives of higher education institutions and various economic and industrial sectors in the country.
This comes within the framework of the Ministry’s efforts to build a more integrated national model between universities and economic sectors, which contributes to developing academic programs, enhancing applied research and innovation, and raising students’ readiness to acquire the required skills to move smoothly into the labor market.
The event focused on three main tracks, including (practical full-time dedication for academic cadres to connect them with the economic and industrial sectors, implementing the practical training governance policy, and enhancing the participation of practitioners and experts from the economic and industrial sectors in the educational and research process).
These paths aim to bring about a qualitative transformation in the relationship between universities and the various economic and industrial sectors, through building sustainable institutional partnerships that allow universities to understand the needs of the labor market in a deeper way, and enable the economic and industrial sectors to participate effectively in developing students’ skills and expertise, which will reflect positively on the quality of educational outcomes and the competitiveness of graduates.
The Ministry of Higher Education and Scientific Research confirmed that this strategic cooperation between higher education institutions and economic sectors constitutes one of the main drivers for developing a more flexible and competitive higher education system by enabling universities to develop academic programs more closely linked to the needs of the national economy, and preparing students who possess the skills and practical experiences required for future jobs.
The study conducted by the working group with partners in the economic and industrial sectors showed widespread interest in the full-time practical program for academic cadres, as 84% of participants expressed their interest in the initiative, and 88% expressed their desire to participate in the pilot phase of 2026, which reflects the growing momentum of the initiative and confidence in its expected impact on developing the academic environment and enhancing its integration with the needs of the national economy.
Through the working group, the Ministry organized introductory tours of the practical full-time program for academic cadres during the months of February and May with the participation of 42 entities representing 11 vital economic and industrial sectors, which resulted in identifying more than 380 opportunities to host members of the academic and teaching bodies within institutions and companies operating within vital fields such as: (energy, retail, manufacturing and industrial production, health care and life sciences, construction, infrastructure, real estate, technology, data and digital services, and banking and financial services). vocational, and hospitality), which reflects the expanding scope of partnership between higher education institutions and priority economic sectors.
The program contributes to enabling members of the academic and teaching staff to have direct access to the latest practices, technologies and challenges within the various economic and industrial sectors, which is reflected in the development of academic content, teaching methods and research projects, and enhances the integration of practical skills and modern technologies into educational programmes, in addition to supporting the development of applied research more closely linked to national priorities and the needs of the economy.
The event touched on developing a national model to enhance the participation of practitioners and experts from the economic and industrial sectors in the educational and research process, by building a system that allows linking universities with qualified practitioners, and providing mechanisms for evaluation and exchanging feedback, which contributes to expanding the benefit from practical experiences within the academic environment, and supporting the development of educational and training content that meets the actual needs in the economic sectors.
The event also discussed mechanisms for implementing the practical training governance policy, including harmonizing roles and responsibilities between higher education institutions, training entities and operational teams in the ministry, and organizing awareness-raising and capacity-building sessions. To ensure a unified understanding of the guidelines and implementation mechanisms, in addition to preparing a monitoring and reporting framework that includes performance indicators, data submission requirements, and monitoring the extent of compliance by higher education institutions.
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