Siemens and Higher Colleges of Technology sign MoU for leadership program

Business leaders in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region will be able to enhance their leadership skills through a new senior leadership course that Siemens and the Higher Colleges of Technology (HCT) are introducing in the region.

This follows the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) between both parties in March.

The HCT and Siemens will offer state-of-the-art leadership development based on the Siemens Leadership Excellence courses.

Siemens is responsible for designing and delivering the course curriculum, while the HCT will provide the logistical and technical support for the program in the region.

"The key to a successful business is effective leadership. Through this partnership, HCT and Siemens will jointly develop and offer a senior leadership program that will equip our visionary leaders of the future with the management skills needed to to motivate and develop their teams, communicate effectively with all stakeholders and to build business strategies that allow each individual to perform to the best of their abilities," said Dr. Tayeb Kamali, Vice Chancellor, HCT.

The course will address the demands for senior leadership development in the MENA region, initially for those in the UAE. It will cater for experienced professionals who have completed their MBA education and have gained substantial multinational business and leadership experience.

"Over the last years, Siemens has built up the Siemens Leadership Excellence (SLE) curriculum as a core element of our aspiration to achieve people excellence. The SLE courses offer our senior executives broad opportunities to explore advanced leadership and management skills," explained Marion Horstmann, Vice-President of Siemens AG Corporate Human Resources.

"Based on the 'leaders develop leaders' principle, all SLE courses include high profile Siemens speakers on their training team in addition to senior external coaches. The course that we will offer with the HCT will be designed along similar lines, but will be tailor made to suit the needs of the MENA region's business environment. By including senior Siemens speakers in the courses we make our profound business and leadership Know-how available to the MENA region," Marion added.

The HCT is a distinguished educational institution in the UAE dedicated to developing the national workforce of the country. HCT employs the latest technologies and best-in-class teaching methods to educate national men and women in the UAE and has over 16,000 students currently enrolled in its 16 campuses across the UAE.

According to Joachim Kundt, CEO of Siemens LLC, "The Middle East and more specifically, the Arabian Gulf region, is still one of the fastest growing regions in the world. This development of large scale infrastructure, and the diversifying of the economy, all in a relatively short time span, underlines the need for strong leadership that helps achieve planned objectives."

Siemens is an active supporter of the HCT with regular internship programs in its diverse business areas. Additionally, Siemens also participates in industry relevant conferences organised by the Higher Colleges. The March 2009 Global Forum event, a part of 'Education without Borders', saw the participation of Marion Horstmann.