Minister of Education and Higher Education H E Lolwa bint Rashid Al Khater with other officials during the opening of fifth Unesco Conference on Higher Education in the Arab States in Doha yesterday.
Doha, Qatar: Qatar is hosting a regional conference bringing together academics, policymakers and international experts to shape a shared vision for the future of higher education in the Arab world, with discussions focusing on digital transformation, artificial intelligence, academic cooperation and protecting education in conflict-affected countries.
The fifth Unesco Conference on Higher Education in the Arab States, themed “The New Landscape of Learning in Higher Education in the Arab States”, began yesterday in Doha, bringing together representatives of universities and regional and international organisations for two days of discussions. The event is jointly organised by the Ministry of Education and Higher Education, Unesco and the Qatar National Commission for Education, Culture and Science.
The opening ceremony was attended by Minister of Education and Higher Education H E Lolwa bint Rashid Al Khater, Director of the Unesco Regional Office for the Gulf States and Yemen in Doha H E Salah Khaled and Chairperson of the Executive Board of Unesco and Permanent Representative of Qatar to Unesco H E Dr. Nasser bin Hamad Al Hinzab and other officials and guests.
In her opening address, Minister of Education and Higher Education said planning for the future of Arab higher education required an objective assessment of achievements alongside a realistic understanding of the challenges that remain.
She said Arab universities had made significant progress over the past two decades in expanding access to higher education, developing academic and research institutions, and improving gender equality in university enrolment. “Women now account for 52% of undergraduate students and 57% of master’s students in Arab countries, while their representation among academic staff has increased from 32% in 2000 to 44% today.”
Al Khater also highlighted the growing role of universities in the Arab region, particularly in the Gulf states and Jordan, as destinations for Arab students studying outside their home countries. A decade ago, Western Europe and North America were the main destinations for many of these students. However, she cautioned that Arab countries did not share the same circumstances or levels of progress. While some universities had advanced in scientific research and modern technologies, others continued to face funding difficulties and challenges in retaining academic talent.
Minister of Education and Higher Education H E Lolwa bint Rashid Al Khater with other officials during the opening of fifth Unesco Conference on Higher Education in the Arab States in Doha yesterday.
In parts of the Arab world, even the continuation of education had become a major challenge, particularly in Palestine, Sudan and Yemen, while Syria also continued to face difficulties. Citing Unesco estimates, Al Khater said 95% of university campuses in Gaza had been destroyed or damaged, with 22 completely destroyed. She also referred to the destruction or looting of 124 universities and colleges in Sudan. She warned that the damage extended beyond physical infrastructure, resulting in the loss of scientific and academic knowledge accumulated over decades.
Describing this as part of the shared scientific memory of the Arab world, she called for efforts to enable affected students to continue their studies, host displaced researchers and establish partnerships to safeguard education and research.
Turning to emerging challenges, Al Khater identified artificial intelligence as one of the most significant developments affecting universities, influencing knowledge production and assessment as well as the skills expected of graduates.
She cited a Unesco survey conducted last year which found that only 19% of the higher education institutions covered had adopted an official AI policy, indicating that the rules governing these technologies were still being developed. The Minister said this offered Arab universities an opportunity to contribute to shaping approaches to AI in higher education rather than simply adopting policies developed elsewhere.
She stressed that the Arab world’s participation in technological development should go beyond using AI tools that support Arabic to actively contributing to their design and development.
In this regard, she highlighted Fanar, an Arabic-language AI model developed by the Qatar Computing Research Institute at Hamad Bin Khalifa University in cooperation with the Ministry of Communications and Information Technology.
Several universities and higher education institutions in Qatar and the wider Arab world have started using the model, she said, encouraging more institutions to adopt it and contribute to its development as a shared Arab initiative.
The minister also stressed that cooperation among Arab universities should extend beyond academic qualifications and institutional partnerships to encompass the protection, production and wider accessibility of knowledge.
She said that the conference will also witness the launch of the Arabic version of Unesco’s roadmap for transforming higher education.
Its agenda covers the recognition of academic qualifications across Arab countries, digital transformation, the ethical use of artificial intelligence, and the development of academic competencies and supportive working environments for faculty members.
The discussions also take into account international trends and the ongoing review of Unesco’s 1997 Recommendation concerning the Status of Higher-Education Teaching Personnel, alongside preparations for the development agenda beyond 2030.
Al Khater expressed hope that the conference would help establish shared Arab priorities for the post-2030 period, stressing that the objective was not to make universities identical but to strengthen their complementarity and expand opportunities for students beyond national borders and individual circumstances.
She said the success of regional cooperation should ultimately be measured by tangible improvements in the lives and opportunities of students and researchers.
