The choices made by "high school" students for university majors have shown great interest in healthcare specializations and engineering majors related to robotics and artificial intelligence.
The students emphasized that the Corona pandemic prompted them to re-evaluate their university desires and methods for choosing their majors, and encouraged most of them to go towards digital specializations, linking the choice of the university program to the state's development plans, and the functional needs of the local and global labor market.
In contrast, academic counselors: Muhammad Montaser, Maryam Hamid, and Ayman Massad attributed the students ’desire to join medical, health sciences, and non-traditional engineering disciplines to increase their awareness, after the emergence of the Corona pandemic, and life shifted significantly towards digital services, which pushed Most students change their desires, and choose new majors.
Educational officials confirmed that Corona pushed the universities to re-evaluate their academic programs, and to launch new programs that are in line with life after "Covid-19", and that meets the country's strategy and the rapid change in labor market maps.
In detail, students said that the academic guidance, which they obtained since the introduction of distance education, focused on the areas of health, artificial intelligence and food security, largely.
The students confirmed: Maha Hassan, Nouf Ibrahim, Rakia Abdullah, Mahasin Al-Saadi and Raghad Al-Balushi, that they rethinked their university majors, after the world went through its health crisis, caused by the spread of the "Covid-19" virus, indicating that they discovered, with the help of academic guidance experts Those provided by educational institutions, that the specialties of health care, epidemiology or automation and artificial intelligence are the specialties of the future, and that the labor market at the local and international levels will depend, in the coming years, on these specialties to a large extent, so they decided to choose from among them, according to academic tendencies and ability To succeed and excel in it.
The students also confirmed: Ahmed Al Hammadi, Zain Al Mansoori, Muhammad Saeed, Majid Al Rayyes, and Wael Saad, that the Corona pandemic contributed greatly to changing their thinking style to specialize the future, and directed them towards specializations such as medicine and artificial intelligence, because it played a big role in the state’s success in controlling Global crisis.
On the other hand, Emirati universities announced the introduction of new educational courses, in line with the future of higher education beyond the “Corona”, and providing specializations that serve the sectors of artificial intelligence, automation, and health care, noting that the compass of the labor market will move towards these sectors more, during the coming period.
The Higher Colleges of Technology confirmed the re-review of academic programs and specializations, in line with the jobs that are expected to witness an increasing demand after «Covid-19», taking into account the nature of the sectors expected to grow, related to the areas of health sciences, technology and biotechnology related to food security, computer science, information and applied research .
The Director of Colleges, Dr. Abdullatif Al-Shamsi stressed that the “Corona” crisis necessitated the strengthening of advanced infrastructure in the health system, and a major breakthrough in the development and modernization of the health care sector at all levels, pointing to the focus on my specialty: nursing and emergency medicine.
Al-Shamsi said that «colleges are currently working on the implementation of plans to expand programs in health sciences», stressing the development of a plan to increase the number of enrolled in health sciences majors to 5000 students during the next five years.
He added that the number of those currently enrolled in these specializations reaches 2300 students, distributed in eight specialties, including: nursing, emergency medicine, pharmacy, medical laboratories, medical radiology, health information systems, veterinary sciences, and social service.
Abu Dhabi University revealed the addition of three new programs in the College of Health Sciences, which will start teaching as of next semester. It mimics crises, disasters and epidemics, similar to the "Covid-19" virus. It includes a bachelors degree in "Medical Laboratory Analysis", "Molecular and Medical Genetics", and "Nutrition and Diets".
The three new programs are added to the two programs: "Bachelor of Science in Public Health" and "Bachelor of Science in Environment, Health and Safety", currently applied at the university.
"The current health conditions underscore the importance of training more workers in the health sector, as it has become more urgent," said the deputy director of the university, Professor Philip Hamill.
He added that, since the establishment of the College of Health Sciences, Abu Dhabi University has made sure to provide the labor market with competencies that are able to support the sector at various levels.
Zayed University revealed its intention to launch five new master's programs in the next academic year, to keep pace with the changing labor market requirements, and to fight the spread of the emerging corona virus (COFED-19), including: Master of Public Health, Nutrition, Counseling and Psychology, Environmental Sciences and Sustainability, in addition to To a master's degree in digital transformation and information systems, noting that the five programs are currently under preparation.
The Vice-Chancellor of the University, Head of Academic Affairs, Dr. Nagy Wakeem said: «We have, within the new specialties, two disciplines related to health sciences to deal with future epidemics: (Master of Public Health, Master of Counseling and Psychology). In addition, the university’s administration will soon re-launch the Master’s Program in Health Care Management. ”
Wakeem added that Zayed University provides early professional advice to new students, in order to guide and assist them in choosing specializations appropriate to their lives and careers.
For his part, Luay Dahmash, director of emerging markets for Autodesk, to provide engineering software, said that 47% of business activities in the UAE are at risk of becoming automated, according to a study by the World Economic Forum.
He added, "A McKinsey study estimated that 800 million people worldwide may be forced to find new jobs by 2030, due to the increasing prevalence of automation."
He explained that «the scheme contained in (Emirates goals 2071) seeks to develop a diversified economy, based on knowledge, and move away from the economy that is usually dominated by the oil sector. This trend will be supported by a series of new strategies and technologies, such as: artificial intelligence, robotics, and automation. ”
He added: "One of the main requirements for the success of this transformation will be changing the teaching methods, which means that today's students will need different tools, and a new type of knowledge and skills that will enable them to succeed in the future, where a great dependence on technology will be inevitable." .
Open mindset
Louay Dahmash, director of emerging markets for Autodesk, to provide engineering software, said that “traditional learning methods, which depend on memorization and repetition, are no longer useful. Students and educational institutions will have to adopt a "learning by doing" approach to prepare young people for the workplace and jobs in the future.
He stressed that specialists in the field of education should shift their focus away from teaching students the skills necessary to perform a specific job or role. Instead, they should develop an open mindset of students that allows them to think creatively and solve problems effectively.