Objectives

The Higher Colleges of Technology is committed to promoting digital engagement to support its decision-making processes. As the largest higher education institution in the country, HCT serves a broad audience, including students, graduates, parents, employers from both the public and private sectors, and other stakeholders. HCT offers opportunities for digital participation through a framework that allows individuals from all segments of society to share their opinions, suggestions, and recommendations.
Digital participation is facilitated through a variety of digital channels and tools that enable interaction, feedback collection, and opinion sharing. Additionally, it includes direct communication initiatives, such as brainstorming sessions and open discussions. The ultimate goal is to enhance service development and support informed decision-making.

Scope

The scope of digital participation covers topics that require gathering forward-looking opinions prior to implementation, as well as conducting opinion polls at various stages during or after implementation, with the aim of assessing and improving service quality. This includes a wide range of communication tools and channels, available through HCT’s website, social media platforms, internal channels, and the ‘sharik.ae’ website.

Digital Participation Tools

HCT offers a variety of tools and channels for digital participation, enabling the audience to share their opinions and suggestions. The results of many of these contributions are shared on the ‘sharik.ae’ website. The following are the key digital channels and tools available:

• Digital consultations
• Blogs
• Forums
• Live chats
• Surveys and opinion polls
• Brainstorming sessions (non-digital)
• Student discussion groups (HCT SHOREK initiative & non-digital channels)
• Interactive laboratories
• User Experience (UX) Lab

These tools and channels serve as vital connections between HCT and the community, helping to enhance service quality and contribute to informed decision-making.

Stakeholders

Stakeholders refer to individuals, groups, and entities connected to the Higher Colleges of Technology. This category includes students (nationals, residents, and people of determination), graduates, parents, employers from both the public and private sectors, vendors, and investors.

Digital Participation Guidelines

HCT welcomes all customers who wish to communicate with it and share their feedback through its official digital channels and platforms. It highly values and appreciates opinions, comments, and suggestions related to its role and responsibilities towards the community. The primary goal of digital participation is to improve, enhance, and elevate services for the public good. To achieve this, communication and participation are continuously monitored and followed up to foster constructive engagement and ensure that the intended outcomes are met. At the same time, HCT is committed to preventing the publication of content that may involve any of the following:

• Threats to security
• Inappropriate or offensive language
• Invasion of privacy or harm to individuals
• Violations of the UAE laws
• Breaches of the HCT’s policies, procedures, directives, internal regulations, and rules
• Inappropriate, obscene, or defamatory content
• Spam messages or commercial promotions
• Bias or discrimination against any segment of the community based on race, colour, nationality, religion, gender, status, or any other grounds
• Group or political discussions
• Violations of intellectual property rights

Any content found to fall under these categories will be blocked, and its dissemination, access, and development will be prevented.

Response and Evaluation Mechanisms

• Ensure customer participation is acknowledged and addressed according to established policies, including designated response times and follow-up procedures.
• Conduct a thorough evaluation of participation to ensure alignment with relevant policies, regulations, and guidelines for digital engagement.
• Implement ongoing monitoring and assessment to analyze interactions, identify trends, and uncover insights that can contribute to development and improvement.
• Administer regular surveys to gather feedback that supports service development and aligns with the expectations of the target audience.

Announcing and Promoting Digital Participation Opportunities

• Continuously encourage participation and interaction through official communication channels, including the website, call centre, social media, newsletters, survey links, and invitations to join brainstorming sessions and open discussions.
• Announce digital participation opportunities across multiple platforms, utilizing various mechanisms and tools.
• Create employee-related surveys or awareness announcements that are linked as access requirement for the employee or student portal, ensuring the message is delivered correctly to all targeted individuals.