Higher Colleges of Technology

For the university in Oman, see Higher College of Technology.

Higher Colleges of Technology
كليّات التقنيّة العليا
TypeFederal
Established1988
Academic staff
1164
Administrative staff
948
Students23,000
Location
16 separate campuses[a]
across the United Arab Emirates
Colours
  • White
  • red
  • green
  • black
MascotFalcon
Websitewww.hct.ac.ae

The Higher Colleges of Technology (HCT) (Arabic: كليّات التقنيّة العليا) is a public institute of technology with 16 campuses and facilities throughout the United Arab Emirates. Founded in 1988 by Sheikh Nahyan bin Mubarak al-Nahyan, it is the largest applied higher educational institution in the country.

During the 2020–2021 academic year, there were 14,889 female and 7,333 male students enrolled at 16 campuses and six academic divisions throughout the country.[1] More than 71,000 UAE nationals are graduates of the institution.[2] It has issued over 92,000 credentials to graduates since 1991.

The HCT has formal alliances with a number of international tertiary education and training institutions, and corporate partnerships with local and multinational companies. Some programs have international accreditation: for example, the HCT's Bachelor of Education degree was developed with, and is certified by the University of Melbourne.[3]

HCT is the first educational institution in the UAE to be named as an economic free zone, as declared in the Fifty-Year Charter of Sheikh Mohammed Bin Rashid Al Maktoum, UAE Prime Minister and ruler of Dubai. It is one of the first six higher education institutions in the world to receive accreditation from the Quality Assurance Agency (QAA), UK’s global leader in quality assurance for higher education.

The CERT (Centre of Excellence for Applied Research and Training) is the commercial arm of the Higher Colleges of Technology, developing and providing education, training and applied technology for public and private sector clients, since 1996.[4]

The HCT Chancellor is Abdulrahman Abdulmannan Al Awar, UAE Minister of Human Resources & Emiratization. Tayeb A. Kamali was appointed as the Vice Chancellor in June 2005. Mohammed Omran Al Shamsi was made President of the Higher Colleges in 2013, an appointment that carried Ministerial rank.[5] On March 17, 2015 Abdullatif M. Al Shamsi was appointed as HCT Vice Chancellor, by Federal Decree. He was subsequently appointed to the role of HCT President & CEO.[6] In September 2022, Faisal Al Ayyan was appointed as HCT President & CEO.

Higher Colleges of Technology (HCT) is accredited by the Commission for Academic Accreditation (CAA), the UAE Federal Government's quality assurance agency for higher education. To check the CAA's active accredited programs at Higher Colleges of Technology (HCT), visit this link.


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  1. ^ "Enrollments By Academic Division & Gender" (PDF). HCT Factbook. Higher Colleges of Technology. Retrieved 14 January 2013.
  2. ^ Swan, Melanie (10 November 2011). "HCT helps fill workforce gap". The National. Retrieved 10 November 2011.
  3. ^ "Higher Colleges of Technology". Hct.ac.ae. 16 September 2010. Archived from the original on 23 August 2010. Retrieved 27 September 2010.
  4. ^ "Higher Colleges of Technology". Hct.ac.ae. 17 June 2010. Retrieved 27 September 2010.
  5. ^ "محمد حسن عمران.. متابعة نهضة التعليم العالي - عبر الإمارات - تعليم - البيان". www.albayan.ae (in Arabic). 15 April 2013. Retrieved 12 July 2021.
  6. ^ "Higher Colleges of Technology will kick off 2021 with the launch of its third accelerator programme - Higher Colleges of Technology". hct.ac.ae. Retrieved 18 April 2022.