The membership of the Board of Trustees of the Higher Colleges of Technology (HCT) has recently been revised by the UAE Government, with a number of new appointments made to the eight-member team which will operate under the chairmanship of HE Mohammed Omran Al Shamsi, Chancellor of the HCT.

The new board is made up of a broad cross-section of business, industry and academia which reflects the HCT’s vision to be recognized as the best applied higher education institution in the United Arab Emirates, producing knowledgeable, innovative and skilled Emirati graduates that support the nation in pursuit of excellence.

The appointments were made pursuant to the Cabinet Decision No. (238/9/18) of 2015, which will see the Board of Trustees operate for four years, effective from September 13, 2015.

The new HCT Board of Trustees shall consist of the following members:

• Mohammad Abdulla Sahoo Al Suwaidi, Director ofGas Directorate, ADNOC
• Mohamed Sultan Al Qadi, CEO and Managing Director of RAK Properties
• Mohammad Mattar Al Marri, Director General of the National Human Resources Development & Employment Authority (TANMIA)
• Moza Ali Al Hameli, Director of Institutional Development, Ministry of Presidential Affairs
• Dr Abdullah Al Khanbashi, Former Vice President of UAEU
• Fatma Ghanem Al Marri, CEO of School Agency, Knowledge & Human Development Authority (KHDA)
• Malek Sultan Rashed Al Malek, CEO of TECOM Group
• Dr Abdullatif Al Shamsi, Vice Chancellor of the Higher Colleges of Technology

Mohammad Abdulla Sahoo Al Suwaidi is the Director of the Gas Directorate at ADNOC. He started his 30-year career in the energy sector as a manufacturing engineer. After that he occupied several positions in GASCO, and was eventually appointed CEO of GASCO for over 11 years. He also occupied many positions in ADNOC before taking on his current position.

Mr Al Suwaidi holds a Bachelor Degree in Chemical Engineering from South California University in Los Angeles.

Mohamed Sultan Al Qadi is the Managing Director and CEO of RAK Properties. He is also a Director in Investment & Development Office (IDO) of the Ras Al Khaimah government. In addition, Mr Al Qadi is the Chairman of the Board of Directors of the Commercial Bank International (CBI) as well as being a member of the Board of Directors of many companies and corporations.

Mohammad Mattar Al Marri is the Director General of the National Human Resources Development and Employment Authority (TANMIA). He is also the Vice Chairman of the Board of Directors of Al Shabab Al Arabi Club and CEO of the Al Shabab Al Arabi Company.

Mr Al Marri is a keen sportsman who was a former player at the Al Shabab Football Club in Dubai. His love of football has seen him become the Vice Chairman of the Professional League Committee’s Technical Committee of the UAE Football Association. He has 22 years’ experience in the corporate world and holds two Master’s Degrees in Business Administration from Harvard and Stanford universities in the USA.

Moza Ali Al Hameli is the Director of Institutional Development at the Ministry of Presidential Affairs.

From 2010 until her present role Ms. Al Hameli held the position of manager of the Organizational Development Department in the Ministry of Presidential Affairs, where she managed the Division of Strategic Planning and Performance Evaluation and the Division of Quality and Excellence. Prior to that she was the manager of the Ministry’s Division of Strategic Planning and Performance Evaluation.

Ms. Al Hameli holds a Bachelor Degree in Business Information Technology from HCT, a Master’s Degree in Business Administration from UAEU, a Diploma in Strategy and Innovation from Oxford University and a Master’s Degree in Strategic and Security Studies from the National Defense College.

Dr Abdulla Al Khanbashi is the former Vice President of UAEU, a position he held until 2012, and he brings to the HCT Board of Trustees vast experience in management roles in the academic sector. During the past 25 years he has occupied many positions and served on many Boards of Directors of corporations and entities.

Dr Al Khanbashi holds a PhD in Chemical Engineering from Tennessee University, as well as Master’s and Bachelor of Science Degrees in Chemical Engineering from Louisville.

Fatma Ghanem Al Marri is the CEO of School Agency at the Knowledge & Human Development Authority (KHDA). In this position she has played a key role in improving innovative practices in the teaching and learning process in government schools in Dubai between 2007 and 2011.

During this period, Ms Al Marri became member of the Federal National Council (FNC) and a member of the Board of Trustees of the Hamdan bin Mohammed Smart University.

Malek Sultan Al Malek is the CEO of the TECOM Group. Prior to this role he was the Managing Director of Dubai Internet City and Dubai Outsourcing Zone. In these positions he played a key role in the development of the ICT industry in Dubai and the UAE. Mr Al Malek holds a Bachelor’s Degree and a Higher Diploma in Business from HCT.

Dr Abdullatif Al Shamsi is the Vice Chancellor of the Higher Colleges of Technology, to which he was appointed by Federal decree in March 2015. Prior to this role he was the Managing Director of the Institute of Applied Technology (IAT) since June 2007.

At the IAT Dr Al Shamsi established a school system of seven campuses located throughout the UAE. Under his leadership, the IAT achieved accreditation by the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools Council on Accreditation and School Improvement (SACS CASI)—the first secondary schools to obtain this prestigious accreditation outside the United States.

In addition, he has led efforts to establish a number of higher education institutions in the UAE including the Abu Dhabi Polytechnic, Al-Ain International Aviation Academy (AAIAA), and Fatima College of Health Sciences (FCHS) in Abu Dhabi and Al Ain. He holds a PhD in Mechanical Engineering from Duke University, USA and Master’s and Bachelor’s degrees from Boston University.