External Factors Affecting the Governance and Strategic Directions of Higher Education Institutions in the United Arab Emirates

Since its inception in 1971, the UAE has worked to establish a modern and diverse system of higher education. In a short period of time, the UAE overcame many obstacles to emerge as an important educational center in the region, attracting foreign students, academics, and higher education institutions wishing to be present in this region of the world. In this research, we describe higher education in the United Arab Emirates: we describe the types of higher education institutions in the country, and the official bodies regulating higher education (Regulators), and we talk about the vision of the country's leadership for scientific research and the development of educational institutions, as expressed in the National Agendas related to technology and scientific research and higher education. How is the governance of higher education institutions affected by these factors? The research focuses on the educational institutions’ keeping pace with the future challenges of the rapid development of science and technology, what is known today as the Fourth Industrial Revolution, and how this revolution, whose features have begun to take shape, will affect the strategic directions of educational institutions and the governance of higher education institutions in the UAE in the twenty-first century.