Under the patronage of H.E. Dr. Mohamed Ould Amar, Director-General of ALECSO, and H.E. Dr. Abdulrahman Al Awar, UAE Minister of Human Resources and Emiratisation and Acting Minister of Higher Education and Scientific Research, the 19th Conference of Arab Ministers of Higher Education and Scientific Research kicked off in Abu Dhabi on November 27, 2024. The Conference is organized by ALECSO in collaboration with the UAE Ministry of Higher Education and Scientific Research.
The 19th Conference, which ran over two days, was attended by delegations from 21 Arab countries, representatives from associations of Arab universities, the Federation of Arab Scientific Research Councils, the UNESCO Regional Center for Quality and Excellence in Education, along with relevant experts and specialists, directors of ALECSO’s technical departments, and prominent UAE government figures.
The Expert Meeting of the Conference began with a statement by Dr. Rami Iskander, Director of Education at ALECSO, in which he expressed thanks to the United Arab Emirates for graciously hosting this event, as well as to all participating delegations. He underlined the importance of the theme chosen for the 19th Conference : “A Flexible Higher Education System in Pace with Rapid Global Changes”, and highlighted the significant role of higher education and scientific research in meeting the development needs of Arab countries.
For his part, Dr. Hassan Al-Muhairi, representative of the United Arab Emirates, welcomed all participants and expressed sincere thanks to ALECSO for its fruitful cooperation in the organization of this event. He commended the theme chosen for the Conference, which aligns with the UAE's outstanding experience, as well as with ALECSO's strategic vision in the field of higher education and scientific research.
The Expert Meeting agenda featured two working sessions : The first session included a presentation and discussion of the Main Document of the Conference titled “A Flexible Higher Education System in Pace Rapid Global Developments.” The second session covered the following topics:
- The General framework of ALECSO’s strategy for promoting creativity and innovation in higher education institutions in Arab countries;
- The Document on the development of university education programs in Arab countries in light of future skills and professions;
- The Arab Common Qualifications Framework;
- The Blockchain-based certificate authentication project;
- ALECSO’s “Scientific Research, Entrepreneurship, and Innovation Fund” project.
- Presentations by participating countries.
