As part of joint GCC cooperation:

The United Arab Emirates University hosted the second meeting of the Strategic Planning Team for Higher Education in the GCC on Thursday 28^th of April 2016 in the Crescent Building on the UAEU campus. Dr. Adel Bin Khalifa Al Zayani, Head of Human and Environmental Affairs at the General Secretariat of the Arab Gulf Cooperation Council; Professor Mohamed Al Baili, Deputy Vice Chancellor for Scientific Affairs; Professor Ghaleb Al Hadrami, Deputy Vice Chancellor for Research and Graduate Studies and representatives from higher education institutions in the GCC were all in attendance.

Dr. Al Baili welcomed the members of the team and conveyed the greetings of Dr. Ali Rashid Al Nuaimi, Vice Chancellor of UAEU. He urged them to make recommendations to enhance higher education in the GCC and to improve their universities in terms of entrepreneurship, excellence and the transfer of knowledge between member states.

This meeting is part of the work of the Arab Gulf Cooperation Council in support education and the role of universities in building societies and developing the innovation of new methods of cooperation in research activities in the GCC.

The team reviewed the recommendations of the first meeting, held in Saudi Arabia. Professor Dr. Khaled Abdul Ghaffar Al Abdul Rahman, Vice-Rector of the Al-Imam Muhammad Ibn Saud Islamic University for Planning, Development and Quality in Saudi Arabia, and head of the team said that, “the purpose of strategic planning is to study the reality of higher education and scientific research in the GCC in order to understand its strengths, weaknesses, challenges and opportunities, so as to draw up a vision and common goals for universities and higher education institutions in the GCC”.

Professor Al Hadrami, was quoted as saying that, “the second meeting of the Strategic Planning Team is to prepare a comprehensive and strategic plan in accordance with the recommendations of the heads of universities and higher education institutions in the GCC, through the development of joint mechanisms to identify priorities”.

The team provided a detailed presentation of the plan in terms of vision, mission, values, general goals and strategies, and an analysis of the status quo as well as the aspirations of policymakers. They will review decisions and directives from the Ministerial Council, ministers and heads of universities in the GCC to select projects and propose strategic initiatives and projects, which can implement these visions and goals. They will also discuss the timeframe for implementation, the financial costs (budget) and define performance indicators for these projects by providing information and figures (statistics).

The meeting concluded with a set of recommendations to be submitted to the Secretariat General for universities and higher education institutions in the GCC.