Goal 16

According to UN World Happiness Report 2019, the UAE came first in the Arab World for the fifth consecutive year and ranked 21st globally, advancing 7 ranks from last year. These indicators affirm the continued endeavours of the UAE to secure the happiness and well-being of its citizens and expatriates alike. Supporting the country's direction is the responsibility of both institutions and individuals, as it is everyone's duty to make significant contributions to boosting happiness in order to maintain the UAE ranking in the Arab world and support our annual advancement globally. To this end, the Higher Colleges of Technology established a Council for Happiness which includes representatives of various HCT directorates and categories. This Council aims to implement a variety of initiatives to secure the happiness of HCT staff and students in their everyday life, in addition to making decisions that contribute to creating a happy and positive work environment in the Higher Colleges of Technology. At the level of daily happiness, the HCT launched several activities and initiatives, such as "one hour of exercise" which allocates for staff 3 hours weekly for exercise, "flexible working hours" and "Basmat Saada" to organize daily events, activities and competitions for staff. Happiness events are also held every Thursday. At the level of centralized decisions and initiatives for staff and student happiness, the HCT implemented the "Shorek" initiative aimed at organizing periodic meetings with students across HCT campuses to discuss their needs and suggestions in order to motivate them and enrich their learning experience. In addition, the HCT achieved electronic transformation to accelerate performance and daily transactions for students and staff. The novel "Coffee with Abdullatif" initiative also aims to arrange amicable meetings between the HCT leadership and staff to receive their feedback and identify their needs. Furthermore, the HCT was the first higher education institution in the UAE to provide the FAZAA card to all its students and staff. Plans are also underway to provide this card to HCT alumni. We believe that happiness is one of the key work values, which is reflected in all the HCT decisions, developments, behaviour, and performance to create positive energy and a team spirit, which will ultimately secure a productive, happy and positive environment.