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UAE Ministry of Higher Ed Works To Create National Data Warehouse

  • By Dian Schaffhauser
  • 03/02/09

The Department of Higher Education Policy Planning and Coordination (HEPPC), part of the Ministry of Higher Education and Scientific Research in the United Arab Emirates (UAE), is making progress on creating a national data warehouse that will integrate data from all segments of higher education in the country, as well as other data sources.

The new data warehouse, which is being developed with the help of SunGard Higher Education, will facilitate a single source of data access across higher education authorities and institutions to help policy makers with strategic planning.

"A highly skilled workforce is essential for the social and economic future of the UAE, and we must ensure a quality education for the next generation of Emiratis so they can lead the nation forward," said Subha Al Shamisi, executive director for the ministry. "We therefore sought an IT partner with knowledge and expertise in higher education to help us build our higher education to world class standards, and SunGard Higher Education has the reputation for delivering the best solutions."

With more than a third of the UAE population under the age of 15, the country has placed a major focus on education. The UAE federal government recently reaffirmed its commitment to education with an allocation of AED 7.4 billion to the sector for 2009. It's anticipated that a portion of these funds will be allocated to IT infrastructures

The first stage deployment of the project was completed in November 2008. When implemented, the data warehouse will combine data from the three federal institutions of higher education: UAE University in Al Ain, Zayed University in Abu Dhabi, and the Higher Colleges of Technology in Abu Dhabi--all of which use SunGard Higher Education software on their campuses. Among other federal and non-federal organizations that will include data in the national data warehouse are the Commission for Academic Accreditation, the National Admissions and Placement Office, the Scholarship and Cultural Foreign Relations Department, and the Academic Equivalency Department.

About the Author

Dian Schaffhauser is a former senior contributing editor for 1105 Media's education publications THE Journal, Campus Technology and Spaces4Learning.

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