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Dr. Ahmad bin Abdulla Humaid Belhoul AlFalasi, Minister of State for Higher Education, has launched Shoorik initiative, aimed at early academic counseling for the school students through the social media platforms, on the sidelines of the UAE-UK Pioneers Forum 2016, which is held in London, and will last for three days.

In his speech to the distinguished scholarship students at the Forum, he stressed that the "Country's keenness on the development of education as a single homogeneous system with its tools and components has recently been reflected in the decision to integrate the Ministries of Education and Higher Education, in order to contribute to the unification of policies and plans based on the human element, as it is the axis of development".

"development comes through education in all its academic and applied forms, and the social media platforms are one of these tools today, which have bridged the distances and opened new horizons for the world to get introduced to the scientific disciplines, and this initiative utilizes such tools to serve the students and acquaint them with the best and most successful experiences,"Dr. AlFalasi added.

"Shoorik" initiative will be activated next May, in conjunction with the date of submitting applications to enroll in the higher education institutions and scholarships and select majors by the high school students, as this initiative will show the experiences and success stories of the outstanding scholarship students abroad for the UAE students through visual materials on the social media platforms, in order to learn about such stories and disciplines needed by the labor market in the coming years, such as Space Science, Sustainability, Nuclear Energy, Entrepreneurship, Innovation, and other important disciplines.

AlFalasi expressed his pride in UAE students who are pursuing their studies abroad, reminding them of the fact that they are ambassadors of their country, Higher Education, and their brothers who wish to study abroad, and each one of them is considered an academic and counseling reference, and launching "Shoorik" initiative is the embodiment of such concept.

The Minister of State for Higher Education added that "Shoorik" initiative is part of the outcomes of the field visits paid by him in the past, where he listened to the notes and opinions of students, and to their future academic preferences, and he said, "I noticed during my field visits that the majority of high school students did not determine which university they wish to study in, and most importantly is the specialty they want to study, and we also noticed, through the Admission and Registration Department at the Ministry, that some students change their choices from time to time during the school year, despite the counseling they receive, which starts with the beginning of the school year, hence the importance of launching Shoorik initiative. "

"Shoorik" initiative, through its tools, will be a counseling program between the secondary school students in the State, specifically high school students, and the higher education students who study abroad on scholarships, so that the scholarship students are to be advisers to the students, who provide them with information and expertise that will help them in selecting a specialization in the high-level universities, and taking advantage of the most important experiences they went through during their studies abroad.

On the implementation of the initiative, he said that the Ministry’s website will be the basic channel of communication between students through posting visual materials for outstanding students abroad, which will be published with a special tag through various channels, in addition to a service to contact the scholarship student directly on their e-mails in case of any request for more information by the students in the State.

He, in the end of his speech, thanked the UAE Embassy, especially Abdulrahman Al Mutaiwee, UAE Ambassador to the UK, the Embassy staff, representatives of employers, and all those who have worked for the success of the Forum, and the Forum’s organizing bodies and contributors, as well as the distinguished students were honored.

For their part, the scholarship students expressed their gratitude for launching the initiative, which confirms the Ministry's confidence in its students, who have always proved their determination to stand together in all circumstances and fields, and its keenness to support the students in an early stage.

The scholarship student "Tariq bin Hatim Al Balushi", who is studying Bachelor of Accounting and Economics in Brunel University the UK, said that this initiative facilitates the scholarship process and choosing the specialty and universities, and paves the way for the exchange of experiences between the current and potential scholarship students, and shortens the way for the new students.

For his part, the scholarship student "Taleb Mohammed Al Hinai", who is studying PhD in Drones Engineering at the Imperial College London, commended the keenness of the Ministry of Education - Higher Education Affairs on choosing the unique scientific disciplines required to keep abreast of the developments in the State, and face the most prominent challenges of the 21st century (such as sustainability, water desalination, and obesity), and that this initiative encourages the UAE scholarship students abroad to return the favor to their country through sharing their experiences and the most prominent challenges they faced during their study, in order to help their fellow high school students to choose the appropriate disciplines, and it also urges the scholarship students to be trustworthy and role models through playing a major role in generating innovative ideas and creative ways that support the economic and development boom in the State.

"Salma Mohammed Mubarak", a PhD student in Political Science at the Monash University in Australia, said that this initiative is a wonderful opportunity to encourage Emirati students who are looking to complete their higher education abroad, as education plays an important role in nation-building and preparing the new students for the atmosphere of study abroad.

The scholarship student "Shamma Al Ansari", who is studying Bachelor of Criminology at the University of Essex - Colchester in the UK, said that the initiative is excellent and useful, and it will benefit the new students who will move on to higher education, especially outside the State, where they will face difficulties in terms of being away from home and choosing the appropriate major and university, which will combine two different thoughts and reduce the problems that we faced in the past.

All cultural attaches abroad welcomed the initiative, and valued its role in building bridges of communication between the students, expressing at the same time their willingness to play its role in the implementation of this initiative, for the fact that the attach? is a link between the scholarship students and secondary school students in the State, stressing that this initiative would be greatly welcomed by all parties.

Dr. Ahmed Belhoul Al Falasi, asked the distinguished scholarship students, who have the desire to participate in the initiative, to communicate with the cultural attach?s abroad, or directly contact the Ministry on the e-mail: [email protected] , as the next phase of the initiative will include monitoring the successful experiences of outstanding scholarship students, and development of content and visual materials on the website.

The Forum was officially opened on Saturday, March 12th, 2016, by Suhail bin Mohammed Faraj Faris Al Mazrouei, Minister of Energy, and several dialogue sessions were held including; "How institutions and companies deal with climate change phenomenon", "Concept of sustainability in professional life", and "Sustainability and building a national economy", and VIPs, diplomats and invited guests were taken on tour of the Forum’s accompanying exhibition, while the Forum’s attendees on the last day will listen to a recorded speech by His Highness Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi and Deputy Supreme Commander of the UAE Armed Forces.

In addition, a leading experience will be presented by Engineer Suhail Al Mazrouei, and four lectures will be delivered by Dr. Ali Al Nuaimi, Director General of Abu Dhabi Education Council, a representative of the Ministry of Interior, Sheikh Waseem Yousef, and a representative of the Supreme Council for National Security, and the Forum will conclude with a dialogue session including questions from the students, a speech to be delivered by the artist Hussein Al Jasmi, Goodwill Ambassador, and a poetry evening for Poet Juma Alguis.