Category: Higher Education

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90 Days and Counting: EDU-ALLIANCE, LLC

As many of you know, I will be leaving Ankabut when my contract expires at the end of September. It’s been a great four years, but it’s time to do something new. As I have told many of my friends and colleagues I wanted to do something that would use all the skills and knowledge I have gained over the past 40 years.

I, along with a current senior higher education administrator in the UAE since 1993, are forming an education management-consulting firm called Edu-Alliance, LLC here in Abu Dhabi.

The questions most asked are; what is this firm going to and who are potential clients?  Edu-Alliance’s mission is to help develop national capacity in the areas of education, training, and human development in the Middle East (GCC) and North Africa (MENA) region by creating effective and sustainable alliances between organizations in the region with the best-in-class international organizations and experts.

 Our focus will be helping clients achieve success in:

  • Higher education strategic partnerships
  • Mentoring
  • Marketing
  • Executive, faculty and staff recruitment
  • Institution-wide strategy
  • Technology

We will provide an exceptional network and alliances for emerging UAE, GCC and MENA institutions. We will provide value added services to international organizations in establishing win-win partnerships with regional institutions involved in capacity development.

Our combined higher education experience in working in the region also gives us the knowledge to successfully design effective mentoring and retention plans for citizens of this region who are employed in universities, colleges, schools and corporate sector from entry-level to executive levels.

In early August we will launch the website and finalize taking space in Masdar City just outside of Abu Dhabi.  We will formally launch Edu-Alliance by the end of September.

It’s exciting times but still much to do. We are identifying potential experts who will be consultants based on the project and expertise our clients need. If you are interested in being a part of our team, just email me at my personal email at deanhoke@gmail.com and make sure to send a letter and CV telling me of your interest and background.  We will get back with you to discuss acting as a consultant further .  Also, if you are an organization that wants to know more how Edu-Alliance can best serve you please contact me at the same address or call me at +971-50-641-0237.

The other item we are finalizing is the logo. We have cut it down to two and I am asking you as well as others, which do you think best identifies Edu-Alliance: Option 1 or Option 2.  Post your vote in the comments section of this posting of Hoke’s Notes. My partner and I will make the final decision in the next two weeks. I will announce in Hoke’s Notes the winner and a date of the launching of the site.

I will continue to write this summer on the higher education activities in the UAE and the region over the summer. There is significant change occurring and the upcoming year for the education community will be very interesting. I look forward to hearing from you.

OPTION 1                                          OPTION 2

OEdu-Alliancelogo-1Edu-Alliance Option1

 

 

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Finding the right person for a position is challenging!

Finding the right person for a position is challenging no matter where you live and I am involved in the process of finding my successor. I informed the organization I have worked for during the past four years, that I will be leaving at the end of my contract, which will be the end of September. I have enjoyed the job very much but I wanted to take a different direction in my career so I am starting my own education management-consulting firm. I am leaving on good terms and am very involved in the hiring of my successor.

 The UAE is an attractive place to live and work so finding qualified expats is not a big challenge but my CEO and I are in agreement that if we can hire a qualified UAE National that would be ideal.

 The process to announce is pretty straightforward; Human Resources posts the position on the university website, as well as LinkedIn, and various career website and the in-box is immediately filled with qualified applications. Sure enough in 72 hours over 40 hopefuls have applied for my job and the majority met the core requirements but one thing was missing; Emiratis applying.

 What went wrong? Did we do a poor job of explaining the position, or possibly its not in the right website locations, or maybe this is a job a Emirati wouldn’t want. The last option personally hurt my feelings considering I had been doing this for four years and overall liked the job. So I decided to take a more direct approach and looked at my contacts list as well as my LinkedIn database and make a direct contact. I identified six people I thought would be potential prospects or would pass it on to a qualified candidate. Within 24 hours three of the six contacted me to inquire further.

 What I learned surprised me. Two of the people I spoke with were interested but afraid to submit their name for a concern that their boss would find out. They fear their CEO will complain to someone in our organization and accuse them of poaching their personnel. This would end any chance they had of being hired.

 The UAE has a population of 8+ million people of which just 1 million are Emirati. It is a young population and as I have posted in the past, most go into government jobs that pay well and having shorter working hours. Less than 7% go into the private sector and the higher education administrative sector has about one in ten who are Emirati. The country has made it a priority that all UAE based organizations hire Emiratis that puts pressure on supervisors not to lose UAE Nationals. In many cases this results in senior level people making it clear to their counterparts not to go after “my people” or there will be consequences.

 At some level this is understandable but as a result the unofficial policy in a number of educational institutions of no poaching, inhibits mobility for Emiratis gaining new experiences and responsibilities as well as better salary. This trickles down in some organizations where it is very difficult for people to transfer from one department to another.

 The idea of Emirisation is full employment and moving people up the ranks so they can take operational leadership positions, that way the company is not as dependent on expats in the upper ranks. The Emiratis I meet are like all of us, they want a position that pays well, and gives pride and satisfaction in their work. People, if qualified, should not be discouraged to pursue new opportunities if it advances their career goals.

 I am very optimistic we will find a great replacement for me, I just hope anyone who wants to be considered my job or any other position is not discouraged to do so.

To learn more about my position at Ankabut click on Director of Marketing and Communications. I especially encourage UAE Nationals to apply and feel free to contact me.