As more than 1,500 faculty members returned to the Higher Colleges of Technology (HCT) at the beginning of the 2008-09 academic year they were encouraged to explore ways in which education can play a role in sustainable development.
These discussions were recently held at the HCT 21st Annual Conference, an important networking opportunity for faculty and staff.
Shaikh Nahyan Bin Mubarak Al Nahyan, Minister of Higher Education and Scientific Research and Chancellor of the HCT, inaugurated the event under the motto 'Inspiring and Educating Youth for a Sustainable Future'.
He said the institution's first international campus is being established in Bangalore, India, and will start operations shortly. The minister added that HCT is also exploring the possibility of admitting non-national students.
Experts talk
An expert panel of speakers who attended the event included Dr R.K. Pachauri, Chairman of the Inter-Governmental Panel on Climate Change, which was awarded the 2007 Nobel Peace Prize, Dr Bette E. Landman, president emeritus at Arcadia University, US, Dr Terrence K. Pierson, vice-president at Research Triangle Institute's Environmental Sciences Unit, US, Dr William Chameides, dean of the Nicholas School at Duke University, US, Dr K. Lakshminarayana, former commissioner of Collegiate Education for the Government of Andhra Pradesh, India, and guest Dr Takehiko Sugiyama, president of Hitotsubashi University, Japan.
Dr Pachauri said that as natural resources are being depleted, the UAE should move away from "soil wealth" to "soil health". He added that the country should increase production of its own fruit and vegetables to ensure food security and address the worrisome global food crisis.
He said: "We need to see how we can improve the quality of soil so that we can grow fruits and vegetables and probably even grains."
HCT and Terrestrial Ecosystems Research Initiative (TERI) have signed an agreement to look into researching technologies to aid efforts such as land reclamation.
HCT Vice Chancellor Dr Tayeb Kamali said: "As HCT enters its third decade of operations, our students and future graduates will need to be prepared to face and overcome new challenges in sustainable development such as global warming, renewable energy, food shortages and the like."
Dr Kamali said the conference was a "wonderful opportunity" to reflect on how far HCT has come and to plan the next decade strategically in tandem with the fast-changing environment of the UAE.
HCT facts
The institution has completed two decades and the 28,000 graduates are working in various leadership areas.
HCT is the largest higher education institution in the UAE with a current enrolment of more than 16,600 students spread across 16 campuses.
There will be 7,902 new male and female students who will study in more than 100 academic programmes. Of the total number of students 10,000 are female.
In the Higher Diploma and Diploma programmes, the class of 2007 is the largest graduating cohort in HCT's 20-year history with about 1,000 graduates.
By Amelia Naidoo, Staff Reporter