The above came during His Excellency’s inauguration of the Competitiveness Conference in Education yesterday morning. Attending as well were HE Dr. Mughair Al Khayili, the Director of Abu Dhabi Educational Council, HE Ahmad bin Shabib Al Thahiri, First Deputy Chairman of the Federal National Council, HE Abdullah Lootah, Secretary-General of the Emirates Competitiveness Council, Sultan Saqr Al Suwaidi, Member of the National Council, as well as a large number of UAE education officials, directors of districts and schools. A number of education and economics experts, from the UAE and abroad, are participating as well.

HE the Minister of Education continued his inauguration speech:” The UAE has taken great steps towards competitiveness due to the unlimited support from our leaders. Education is of great concern to His Highness Sheikh Khalifa bin Zayed Al Nahyan, the President of the UAE and His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, the Vice-President of the UAE, Prime Minister and Ruler of Dubai, and their Highnesses the members of the Supreme Council, the Rulers of the Emirates, and HH Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, the Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi and Deputy Supreme Commander of the Armed Forces. The MOE has adopted a promising developmental strategy to increase its global competitiveness ability in accordance to international standards.”

HE Al Qattami welcomed the attending officials and specialists who were keen to participate in the conference that is being held for the first time in the UAE.
HE the Minister of Education applauded the efforts of the Emirates Competitiveness Council which have resulted in the advancement of the UAE’s global competitiveness ability as stated in the official reports issued by the World Economic Forum. Moreover, HE stated that this progress makes us very proud and motivates the MOE and education districts to raise the standards of the education system.

HE Al Qattami noted the historic speech of HH Sheikh Khalifa bin Zayed Al Nahyan in which He stated that “the primary component of the national development ability is the attentiveness to the quality of means and outcome. This requires the increase of competitiveness abilities of individuals, establishments and sectors.” Therefore the MOE has always been keen on development in accordance to what was affirmed by HH the president of the UAE thus ensuring the achievement of excellence and quality in the education process.

HE Al Qattami added that HH Sheikh Muhammad bin Rashid Al Maktoum, the Vice President of the UAE affirmed in his words:” We aim in the UAE to be the most competitive nation in the world while placing our citizens in the heart of the development process” thus motivating the MOE to take all necessary measure to enable its competitiveness in education.

The Quality of Education Services
Al Qattami noted in his inauguration speech that the global development path has changed and that competitiveness in not only a term used in reference to economics anymore but also in educational systems. Moreover the types of challenges that face education institutions have changed, making the quality standard of the educational services a determining factor to judge the efficiency of the educational system. This has been accomplished through the creation of the development strategy 2010-2020 wherein the ministry is keen to develop all the elements of the education sector while upgrading the school environment by providing the latest educational means. All of which is to provide an outstanding, high quality educational service that adheres in its development to international academic standards while being suited to the circumstances of the UAE culture and aspirations.

Al Qattami affirmed:” We do recognize that there are many challenges we have to face to reach to an advanced level of global competitiveness. The position the UAE holds internationally strengthens our determination to overcome all challenges while adhering to a development strategy. The initiatives and plans of this strategy will be executed by educational experts. To this end, the Ministry of Education has organized the “Competitiveness in Education Conference” and ensured the participation of an elite group of education experts and specialists to help reach a methodology that will contribute to elevating the effectiveness of our education system and achieving international competitiveness. This will occur by designating the right roles and responsibilities while mobilizing our potentiality, beginning at a starting point that is in harmony with the UAE’s competitiveness vision.”

Adopting Advanced Visions
In conclusion HE Al Qattami said:” The Ministry of Education looks forward to adopting advanced visions that will contribute to raising the standard of the education system while reinforcing a culture of quality and excellence therefore increasing its competitiveness ability and enable the MOE to present an exceptional model educational experience. This requires us all to broaden our discussions, share our successful practices and exchange experiences, therefore reaping benefits from this conference and achieving its goals. I want to thank all the participating and attending education specialist, experts, officials, and academics as well as from university officials and school principals. I would also like to thank the Emirates Competitiveness Council for their tremendous efforts in increasing the UAE’s competitiveness ability. I also thank the conference organizing committee and hope that this conference meets its goals and aspirations.”

On his part Abdulla Lootah, Secretary-General of the Emirates Competitiveness Council said:” I am pleased to be here with you today to discuss one of the priorities of education in the UAE. I wish to focus on the challenges of the education sector and the method of transforming these challenges to opportunities thus enabling the achievement of high standards of competitiveness.” Lootah added:” We will not discuss education from an academic point of view but what we are concerned about is to have an education system that serves as a foundation to achieving a constant competitive economy in the UAE. We want to see individuals that are keen on developing the necessary skills as mentioned in the 2021 vision and to highlight the UAE as a model example both regionally and internationally.”

Education and the Economy
Lootah stated that education and the economy go hand in hand; economists realize the importance of skilled educated competencies. This is evident in the attention that universities and educational institutions give to defining the future needs of nations to enable the coherence between the education outcomes and the requirements of the job market. Moreover Lootah noted that advanced nations realize that knowledge is the most important factor to achieve growth and constant communal development, therefore increased investment in knowledge and technology is witnessed in those nations through education, training and the development of both the private and public sector. The equation for success will not be achieved without an important factor, which is the investment in scientific research and realizing the significance of research in elevating nations. Advanced nations have achieved many accomplishments in the field of research through the definition of the partnership between the government and the institutions as well as individuals.

The Secretary General of the Emirates Competitiveness Council affirmed that the council constantly studies the significant international reports that define the performance of various nations in important sectors such as education, healthcare, work environment, quality of life etc. Furthermore Lootah stated:” We have focused as a work group, in coordination with government and private agencies, on a number of important international reports, including the World Economic Forum reports. The International Competitiveness Report 2010-2011, issued by the World Economic Forum placed the UAE among the “third group” category. This category is the highest standard in defining nations in relation to their economy’s dependency on creative factors in development. This category includes advanced nations such as Germany, Japan, Sweden, Canada, the United Stated of America, the United Kingdom and Singapore; the UAE was among this category that included 32 nations.”

In conclusion, Lootah hoped that the conference will spread awareness about the relation between education and competitiveness. Moreover, this conference is an indication of the investment of countries in building its national abilities while documenting the communications process between various nations. Lootah thanked the Ministry of Education for their effective cooperation with the Emirates Competitiveness Council to contribute to common goals and reach the international competitive standards in education. Lootah expressed his gratitude to the presence of various government and private education agencies as well as decision makers and leaders in the education field

This conference is an indication of the MOE’s eagerness to increase its competitive ability in education internationally which goes in harmony with the vision of the UAE. The conference has attracted a number of education experts from all over the world who are keen to participate with their up-to-date expertise in education competitiveness.

The conference aims to build more advanced visions to contribute to raising the standard of education while spreading the concepts of competitiveness and quality standards in the education system. It also aims to reinforce the districts’ and schools’ creative initiatives and to extract principles that contribute to enabling the achievement of competitiveness in schools, both regionally and internationally. Moreover, the conference will discuss the developments in the job market and the necessary skills for future generations, as well as the methods of advancing education in the UAE to reinforce its competitiveness ability.

The higher organizing committee of the International Conference "Competitiveness in Education 2010" has revealed the list of official speakers and the world-class experts and specialists who will participate in the conference. The conference is organized by the Ministry of Education in cooperation with the Emirates Competitiveness Council and will commence on the 1st of November 2010. It aims to reinforce the concepts and standards of competitiveness in the education system to attain leadership and excellence.

Sheikha Al Shamsi, the Deputy Executive Director for Educational Affairs in the Ministry of Education, stated that the conference, which will run for 2 days, will discuss matters related to educational affairs and international competitiveness. Moreover, she stated that competitiveness in education is of great interest to His Highness Sheikh Khalifa bin Zayed Al Nahyan, the President of the United Arab Emirates, and His Highness Sheikh Muhammad bin Rashid Al Maktoum, the Vice President of the United Arab Emirates, due to fact that competitiveness is a significant factor in reinforcing the position of the UAE and its ability to compete globally in various fields.

Al Shamsi affirmed that this step comes in accordance to the Ministry’s policies to achieve competitiveness and service the education decision makers while constantly being informed about the latest developments in education and its latest techniques. Furthermore, Al Shamsi noted that the conference will assist in adopting new advanced visions that will contribute to raising the standard of educational systems and the dispersion of the concept of competitiveness in the educational arena; it will also reinforce the creative initiatives of the educational districts and schools.

Al Shamsi noted that the list of speakers at the conference includes: The Rt Hon Lord Andrew Adonis, the prior Minister and the Senior Adviser in the UK government and who possesses a leading role in educational policies administration, Ann Puntis, the Chief Executive of University of Cambridge International Examinations, Baroness Dr. Susan Greenfield, Professor of Synaptic Pharmacology, Fellow and Tutor in Medicine, Lincoln College, Oxford, as well as, Dr. Chan Lee, a professor with a PhD in Vocational Education and Workforce Development at Seoul National University in Korea.

The list also includes: Dr Harry Anthony Patrinos, the Lead Education Economist at the World Bank, Professor Dr. Jasim Al Ajmi, Corporate Governance expert, co-founder and deputy chairman of the Bahrain Competitiveness Council (BCC) and Professor of Finance and Corporate Governance at the University of Bahrain, Professor John MacBeath, Professor Emeritus at the University of Cambridge and the Projects Director for the Commonwealth Centre in Education, as well as, Michael Stevenson, vice president of Global Education for Cisco. He is responsible for developing Cisco's education strategy and has led significant engagements supporting education reform in the United States, Australia and Mexico.

On her part, Amina Al Maran, Director of Corporate Excellence in Ministry of Education, noted that the conference reinforces the willingness of UAE to achieve excellence in various fields while preserving its leading position. She added that the conference is an opportunity to coordinate the efforts of strategic partners in placing education in a path that will lead to constant development while attaining a competitive knowledge economy; therefore the following will participate in the conference: of the quality of education, as well as the competitiveness offices, and corporate leaders and business institutions.