The Journey
The journey of education in the UAE has been through many milestones, beginning with its inception in 1971 when the percentage of those who read and wrote was very small. From then, the ministry worked with the support of the wise leadership to develop the educational system, whereby the UAE joined the United Nations Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) in April of 1972. This was a remarkable acceleration in the development of education which continued to include free education in government schools for both males and females. In 2012, H.E. Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum launched the Mohammed bin Rashid Smart Learning Initiative which comprised of all UAE's schools in an attempt to create a new educational environment within them. This initiative encompassed Smart classes in all schools, the distribution of tablets to all students, and the provision of high-speed 4G networks to all UAE's schools.
To learn more about the journey of education in the UAE, watch the following video
Moreover, the UAE has implemented a distance education system for all students as of March 22, 2020 which was implemented in public and private schools as well as higher education institutions. Additionally, the UAE has developed a system to effectively implement distance education, including offering specialized training for teachers to enhance their abilities to manage the educational process remotely.
Digital Transformation Committee
The Ministry of Education has also formed the Pioneers of Digital Smart Electronic Transformation Committee for the Ministry of Education services, headed by the Undersecretary of the Ministry of Education for Performance Improvement.
The committee aims to ensure the provision of easy and simple services of high quality to customers. It also works to measure the level of public awareness on the Ministry's services and work towards enhancing awareness to boost the customer's use of these services.
Key roles of the Committee:
- Overseeing the digital transformation in MoE
- Ensure that all indicators of the smart government criteria are implemented.
- Supervising projects and initiatives developed by the Telecommunications and Digital Government Regulatory Authority
- Continuously monitoring sub-teams work related to smart Government indicators.
- Supervising the Ministry's preparation to assess the possible entity for smart government indicators–the Telecommunications and Digital Government Regulatory Authority – in coordination with sub-committees.
Customer Trust and Cybersecurity
Within the framework of the Ministry's goal of achieving the objectives of "secure educational environments," and the United Arab Emirates in a safe digital environment. A comprehensive information security concept was developed by:
- Having a security operation Center that works on monitoring, detecting and defending cyber-attacks 24/7 using the latest technologies like SIEM which is supported by Artificial intelligence. Also, monitoring more than 60,000 user devices and protect them from malicious activities using EDR.
- Establishing a security incident response team that is available 24/7 to handle the incidents.
- Conducting a rotational internal and external security assessment to find and mitigate the threat risk for more than 184 systems.
- Manage the security risks of identifying assets.
- Using the latest technology (Security Mail Gateway) to protect the emails attacks.
- Developing information security policies for cyber-security.
- Performing a cyber Security awareness has increased the security awareness compared to the previous years.
- Building a partnership with security and local authorities
Annually, the Ministry's website undergoes an evaluation by a team from the Telecommunications and Digital Government Regulatory Authority to ensure that it is achieving excellence in the indicators of smart government enablers and to enhance the quality of its electronic presence.
This is done at the end of each year by monitoring and measuring the level of commitment of the federal entities to smart government enablers and indicators and to implementing the standards set by government guidelines.
Digital Identity (UAEPASS)
Customers can access the Ministry of Education's digital and smart services by registering through the centralised registration system "Digital Identity" which provides customers with secure access to various local governmental, semi-governmental, and private websites and applications in the UAE. Moreover, it facilitates the sharing of official documents, allows for digital signatures to be made on official documents and transactions, and provides instant verification of any signed document shared with the customer through only one account to logg in.
Linking the registration system and services within a centralized platform constitutes an integral pillar of the digital transformation strategy of the UAE government and its transition into paperless transactions. It also enhances the bonds of joint government cooperation at the federal level in order to support an integrated government and private services system in line with the requirements of future societies, cities, and citizens.
UX Lab
The Ministry of Education is consistently working to test the quality of its services and improve the customers' experience with using the ministry's smart services and applications. This is done through the "UX Lab", in cooperation with the Telecommunication and Digital Government
Regulatory Authority.
UX Lab enhances the sustainability of governance and scientific methodologies implemented in order to enhance the customers' satisfaction while using smart service channels and the latest technologies.
UX Lab measures the user experience when engaging with virtual reality services and products. It relies on innovative ways to measure the extent of the customers' satisfaction and happiness with the services provided to them during their experience. Mechanisms for measuring customer experience include interactive and practical approaches that highlight the Ministry's value and achievements under the Smart Government Program. Moreover, it represents the Ministry's tireless efforts towards searching for innovative services to measure customer satisfaction with the smart services provided and enhance them through the Ministry's channels.
