PENCILS DOWN
Part of ETEC's efforts revolve around establishing a culture of quality, continuous improvement, and innovation in the education and training system.
BIOGRAPHY
Husam Abdelwahab Zaman was appointed President of ETEC in 2019, after serving as a board member for three years. He has extensive executive experience in the education sector and was previously the president of Taif University, director general of the Regional Center for Quality and Excellence in Education, and campus president at Saudi Electronic University, in addition to various leadership positions at Taibah University. Zaman holds a PhD in administration and policy studies from the University of Pittsburgh.
Amongst the primary objectives of Vision 2030 include having five Saudi universities in global top 200 rankings. What role do you see for ETEC to drive this agenda?
ETEC has considered three strategic objectives to leverage the academic excellence and support these national efforts. These include enhancing learning outcomes by increasing the coverage, scope and quality of national assessments and tests; promoting excellence between education and training institutions and programs by development and expansion of evaluation and accreditation; and establishing a culture of quality, continuous improvement, and innovation in the education and training system. Each objective has been translated through KPIs, targets, and strategic initiatives. The strategic initiatives associated with each strategic objectives include developing and enforcing national assessments and tests for higher education learning outcomes and readiness of graduates; guiding and promoting excellence between higher education institutions and programs through evaluation and accreditation; improving education and training by monitoring and reporting the quality and status of education and training system; and engaging stakeholders to promote excellence and improve the education and training system.
How do you help improve graduate employability, and how should critical thinking and other soft skills be instilled in students?
Aligning graduate employability with Vision 2030 is essential to achieve the national masterplan. Our children entering schools today will become youths in 2030, and we will have to prepare them for jobs that have not yet been created, technologies that have not yet been invented, and problems that have not yet emerged. To address these challenges, ETEC has involved all stakeholders from the public, private, and third sectors to identify the skills and values that students need to develop and shape their future. We incorporated these skills and values into the K-12 curriculum framework and standards, which include, for example, critical thinking, problem-solving, and ICT skills, communication, self-learning, and collaboration. Also, schools' evaluation standards place more emphasis on the teaching and learning practices that equip students with 21st-century skills. For higher education, we stress the importance of employability skills through accreditation standards and processes for both institutional and program accreditations.
What are your strategic priorities and ambitions for the coming year?
ETEC's strategic priorities and ambitions for the coming year are driven by its strategy developed in alignment with assigned goals, Vision 2030 objectives, and the Human Capital Development Program. The assigned goals for ETEC are to design, set up, and deploy the assigned initiatives within the development program; enhance standards and frameworks for assessment, evaluation, qualifications, and accreditations; develop capacity for assessment and evaluating of education and training programs and outcomes; support national efforts to promote and deploy licensing of education and training system professionals; and take forward the ongoing work of enhancing ETEC's efficiency as an integrated entity as decreed by the royal resolution.
PENCILS DOWN
TABLE OF CONTENTS
Interview
Mohammed A. Al-Mowkley , Deputy Minister of Water Services, Ministry of Environment, Water, and Agriculture & CEO, National Water Company (NWC)
NWC leads the Kingdom's efforts to preserve water as a non-renewable national resource and drastically reduce the average per capita water consumption.
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Majed H. Al Saadi , Managing Director, Priority Projects Office (PPO), Local Content and Government Procurement Authority
PPO and ECA act as an accelerator for the realization of Vision 2030 by bridging the gap between the private and public sectors and helping the government diversify the economy in the long run.
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HRH Princess Hala bint Khaled bin Sultan Al-Saud C, Chairman, Saudi Law Conference (SLC) organizing committee & Founder,, Burhan Almarifa
Burhan Almarifa is focused on maturing the legal sector, encouraging innovation, and enabling research and development in KSA through knowledge transfer and consultancy.
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Sahel N. Abduljauwad, Rector, King Fahd University oF Petroleum & Minerals (KFUPM)
The King Fahd University of Petroleum & Minerals has long been the backbone of Saudi Arabia's formidable drilling expertise. Today, it is working to train the next generation of renewable energy and water management scientists.
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Dr. Abdullah Al-Rubaish, Rector, Imam Abdulrahman bin Faisal University (IAU)
Dr. Abdullah Al-Rubaish was appointed vice president of KFU in 2007 and president in 2010. He combined his executive experience from serving in various deanships at KFU with academic practices to become associate professor of medicine and work as a medical consultant at the Department of Internal Medicine. He graduated from KFU's College of Medicine and completed his medical internship at KFHU, where he also pursued a fellowship program. He became a member of the UK Royal College of Physicians and the Arab Board after he completed his sub-subspecialty in Pulmonary Medicine at the University of Alberta, Canada.
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Rajaa Moumena, Founder & President, Future Institute of Higher Education and Training
Saudi Arabia is allowing women more privileges, including driving and becoming ambassadors. The Future Institute of Higher Education and Training is trying to help by providing courses they need to adapt to this new world.
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