Road
QS Higher Ed Summit:
Kuwait
A bird’s eye view of QS’s Higher Ed Summit in Kuwait in March 2023 and the key lessons MENA higher education institutions take with them as they move forward into the future. By Gauri Kohli
COVID-19 has resulted in several changes for higher education institutions in the Middle East and Africa, with many of them having to adapt to new ways to progress and succeed. The pandemic also reiterated the need for forward-looking tools such as digitisation and automation. Universities are now more focussed on updating their curricula to ensure students have the latest skills and qualifications.
A panel discussion titled “From Reactive To Adaptive” held as part of the QS Higher Ed Summit: Middle East & Africa 2023 in Kuwait last month, discussed how universities were able to achieve the above and more.
Plans for an agile, adaptive future
As part of the discussion, higher education experts from the Middle East & Africa highlighted the region’s short-term and long-term priorities for education. These include innovation and technology, that form the pillars of a knowledge-based economy.
It is also necessary to understand the past challenges faced by the region. Statistics from a World Bank report on the COVID-19 response in MENA tertiary education suggest over 100 million students and 0.8 million teaching staff were affected by the closure of universities in 2020.
Research by McKinsey & Company additionally suggests that due to the pandemic-induced economic contraction, public and private funds for higher education are likely to be constrained going forward. For instance, four out of six Gulf Cooperation Council countries, Bahrain, Oman, Saudi Arabia, and the UAE, reduced government spending on education between 2018 and 2020, both in absolute terms and as a percentage of total budgeted expenditure.
The research emphasises the need for institutions to rethink the approach to higher education and meet the growing demand for postsecondary education. While universities have managed to adapt to digital learning methods, they still need to re-engineer their institutions for an agile and adaptive future. The panel considers how can this be effectively achieved if they still follow the same traditional strategic planning processes.












Responding to this, Dr Karim Seghir, Chancellor, Ajman University, says, “Things are changing at an unprecedented pace. This is mainly magnified by the improvement and the change in technology. Proper strategic planning is important with strategic alignment of resources, and investing in the right direction, besides monitoring.”
Dr David A Schmidt, President, American University in Dubai, stresses that it’s incumbent upon presidents, chancellors, and all academic leaders to remain vigilant in preparing for what is no longer unknown. “The agility and the ability to pivot without a global disaster, to indeed prompt us, to goad us, to force us to change, is the key. I’ve had discussions with other presidents and chancellors, and I've seen that institutions that have very simple, focused strategic plans, that are organic and are regularly assessed, were able to adapt more quickly and more successfully,” he says.
Professor Yusra Mouzughi, President, Royal University for Women, says higher education institutions can benefit and take some lessons learned from corporate institutions for an agile and adaptive future.
The panel emphasised the four key elements for adaptive planning: first being information and constant awareness of what’s happening around, second being adaptive to change when needed, third being partnership of the whole organization and finally, iteration with the ability to scrap things.
Tech can be a strong tonic for growth
As per the World Bank report, most MENA nations have their own distance learning universities or are members connected to regional distance learning universities. Some private universities in the region are also well-equipped for online teaching and learning through earlier investments in electronic platforms and content. Despite this, the majority of countries and public universities are struggling with the sudden necessity of providing large-scale online teaching and learning.
The key challenges governments and universities in the MENA region are facing with regard to moving courses online are the lack of access to internet, lack of sufficient bandwidth in many student households and a shortage of hardware such as tablets and laptops for student use at home, the report found. Other issues were the lack of online platforms for teaching and learning, dearth of digital and pedagogical skills of instructors for online teaching, student assessment, and no training in these areas. Despite these substantial challenges, MENA countries have made an enormous effort, and have largely succeeded, in implementing distance education.
In Tunisia, for example, an estimated 110,000 students signed onto the Virtual University of Tunis online learning platform to take classes. Similarly, 18,000 professors are involved in online teaching activities. In Saudi Arabia, universities achieved unprecedented results with over 1.2 million users attending 107,000 learning hours in over 7,600 virtual classes.

"An important lesson that the universities can learn post pandemic is to not become isolated."
The panel also observes that it is essential to understand the pertinence of diversity and inclusion and education for all while incorporating technology. “The first step is to be with the times. We as presidents need to deal with, plan for and absolutely take action, says Professor Mouzughi. “We also need to look at the human capital that we have in universities. Unfortunately, still in 2023, women are not represented enough in senior leadership positions in higher education across the world. Women can bring different skill-sets and are here to complement what men bring to the table.”
It is also necessary to think about how universities can use technology more meaningfully. Citing an example of the importance of data in diversity and inclusion, Professor Mouzughi says, “We have to have data first. We've got to have data about the contribution of women, how women need to be supported, some previous examples of how they have been successful in adding a different level of expertise.”
Application of strategic plans and collaboration
Most universities in the MENA region are aware of what they need to do to improve upon aspects such as high-quality teaching, keeping students engaged, establishing links with industry, and increase research capabilities.
“The difference, in my view of those strategic plans, is the application. What does excellent teaching mean to you in your university in Egypt? What does it mean to us in Bahrain? What does it mean to you in United Arab Emirates?” asks Professor Mouzughi. “A strategic plan that is not applied is not worth the paper it’s written on. We can all have wonderful looking strategic plans, but it’s how you interpret that and internalise it and make it relevant to yourself, is what makes the difference.”
Acknowledging that there are certainly some challenges when it comes to the application of strategic plans by universities in the region, Dr Yamani also emphasizes the need for collaboration and says that strategic plans mainly depend on the nature of an institution and the contributors. An important lesson that the universities can learn post pandemic is to not become isolated.
“Reach out to your industry partners and the government… make sure they know you’re your strategic plan is, what your vision is and your mission is, what your imperatives are to move you forward,” adds Dr Schmidt.
Panellists also call for the need for institutions to solicit response from the community and factor in their feedback to make iterations to their plans. In that strategic plan, stakeholders must take part and challenge the implementation of the plan. The success of an institution’s plan depends on checking imbalances, setting benchmarks and getting accredited.
Finally, following a culture of innovation is important. “When I say innovation, I'm not only talking about producing new products or new technology… but the culture of innovation itself,” says Dr Seghir. “We need people who can think creatively, can innovate, are aware of the challenges, are responsible and have well-rounded minds and have a global mindset.”