His Highness Sheikh Maktoum bin Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Deputy Ruler of Dubai and President of Dubai International Financial Centre (DIFC), attended the Mohammed Bin Rashid School of Government’s (MBRSG) fifth graduation ceremony for participants enrolled in its Executive Masters, Leadership, and the Emirates Center for Government Knowledge (ECGK) programmes, held today in Dubai’s Emirates Towers.

Handing the graduates their certificates, H.H. Sheikh Maktoum congratulated them on their success and praised their diligence and determination in acquiring knowledge. H.H also paid tribute to the outstanding efforts of the school’s teaching faculty in achieving the desired objectives in line with the government of Dubai’s strategic development plan.

Accompanying His Highness at the graduation ceremony was H.E. Humaid Mohammed Al Qatami, Chairman of the Board of Trustees at MBRSG; H.E. Dr Ali Sebaa Al Marri, Executive President of MBRSG; Dr Omar Mohammed Al Khatib, Executive Director of Islamic Affairs Sector at the Islamic Affairs and Charitable Activities Department in Dubai, MBRSG’s board of trusties members; along with several government officials and media representatives.

H.E. Humaid Mohammed Al Qatami, Chairman of the Board of Trustees at MBRSG said: “Since its inception, the Mohammed bin Rashid School of Government has worked committedly and relentlessly to implement the vision of H.H. Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice President and Prime Minister of the UAE, Ruler of Dubai, whose approach became the very foundation for training and empowerment at the School. This, in turn, paved the way for MBRSG to establish its status and prestige both regionally and internationally, becoming a prominent academic and research institution with a unique blend of training programmes, master’s degrees and other advanced projects.”

“With this well-deserved status, coupled with the valuable support of H.H. Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, the School will continue forward with its ambitious journey,” H.E. Al Qatami added. “This newest graduating class we are celebrating today were trained according to the highest international standards, in line with the vision of H.H. Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid, the sponsor of this event, who has called for empowering leaders qualified to meet the requirements of today and embrace innovation and creativity.”

H.E Dr. Ali Bin Sebaa Al Marri said: “MBRSG’s success in graduating so many students from each intake is a testament to the ethos of the school inspired by the vision of His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, to provide the highest standards of training and education for UAE nationals. We would like to reiterate our commitment to the highest international standards in all our programs and courses, which forms part of our commitment to honing national skills and imbuing Emiratis with the attributes to enable them to effectively contribute to achieving sustainable development goals.”

“We have learned from His Highness Sheikh Mohammed that in the race for excellence, there is no finish line, and as we witness the graduation of the fifth batch of MBRSG students today, we gear ourselves to start a new race,” H.E. noted. “Each renewed challenge helps us to not only spread knowledge at the level of the country, but also at the level of the region and the entire Arab world. For this aim, we put is the latest innovative educational tool to bring the UAE's leading experience to the fore and to promote MBRSG as a hub of academic knowledge and practical experience across the region.”
 
“We work to a clear strategy that focuses on the continuous development of competencies and human capital, so that we can ensure the highest quality and performance in all areas of government work and in line with the vision of leadership. Our initiatives and programs reflect our keenness on investing in young talent and in providing them with the necessary skills to be able to innovate and keeping pace with the rapid changes introduced by smart technologies,” H.E. Al Marri added.

“We emphasise the importance of cooperation and coordination with government agencies in order to ensure the benefit of our programmes and training courses. I would also like to extend my sincere congratulations to all of the graduates and I wish them good progress in their careers,” H.E. concluded.

The graduating class of 2018 consisted of 254 graduates including 36 from the Master of Public Administration and the Executive Master of Public Administration. In addition, there were 170 participants in various Leadership Training Programmes from various government entities, namely: 21 from Dubai Health Authority (taking part in the “Health Pioneers” programme); 19 from the Islamic Affairs and Charitable Activities Department; 12 from the Supreme Council for Family Affairs in Sharjah (enrolled in the customized  Leadership Program); 96 from the Dubai Department of Finance (enrolled in the Professional Certificate in Taxation, which seeks to train national cadres to implement Value Added Tax in Dubai Government Entities); and 22 Executives from the Dubai Government (taking part in the “Future Leaders” programme, which seeks to hone their skills in terms of government work and forecasting the future).

The ceremony also saw 48 consultants graduate from the Emirates Center for Government Knowledge, having completed the Internal Managerial Consultant programme – the first of its kind in the UAE – which seeks to train Internal Managerial Consultants in the country: 130 participants were trained at the centre, 48 of them were accredited after meeting the international accreditation requirements.