On behalf of the Organizing Committee of the Festival of Thinkers and the students and staff of the Higher Colleges of Technology, I would like to extend a warm welcome to all the participants and the world thinkers attending the 2nd Festival of Thinkers.

Mankind seems to be at a critical cross road at the dawn of this millennium, as massive industrialization of 20th century has pushed the environment to the brink.  Albert Einstein noted, “The world we have created is a product of our thinking; it cannot be changed without changing our thinking”. 

Universities have a vital role to foster entirely new ways of thinking to help mankind solve the aftermath of centuries of relentless exploitation of earth’s resources.  The Higher Colleges of Technology, which is celebrating its 20th anniversary this year, seeks to play its part through hosting of international forums such as the Festival of Thinkers and publishing of books and manuscripts of thought leaders from around the world.

From its inception, the vision of the Higher Colleges of Technology is to be a learning institution, learner and learning centered – thus creating in our students a hunger for life long learning.  The word "education" in original Latin meant "drawing out the latent powers of an individual." That has indeed been the wholesome essence of HCT’s learning model.  We concur with the French philosopher Dimnet that education is the methodical creation of the habit of thinking.  We strive to make our students independent and lifelong learners and thinkers – our faculty serve as learning facilitators – not as the traditional stereotypical founts of knowledge and wisdom.  Our learners are encouraged and indeed trained to challenge, critically analyze, and construct creative alternatives to the world views, thoughts and solutions shared by our faculty.  Confucius once remarked, "Learning without thought is labor lost."

We have designed our education model to instill the skills and habit of critical, constructive and creative thinking in our students – first to help them exploit the tremendous opportunities offered by this land of opportunities.  Secondly, the world that our next generation is inheriting also comes with some serious challenges that may impact the very foundation of human existence: energy and water crisis, global warming, disease burdens, conflicts of civilizations and the like.  Though, we may leave our youth with no ready solutions, we must at least equip them with these creative thinking skills to help them design their future.  Gandhi made an emphatic point that those who know how to think need no teachers.  That would indeed be a measure of our success – that our graduates no longer depend on any teachers to face the issues of their times.     

Hence, in celebrating HCT’s 20th anniversary this year, we would like to celebrate thinking and thinkers from all walks of life and cultures.   Over one hundred world thinkers including several Nobel Laureates have been invited to this Festival of Thinkers to inspire the young participants from the UAE and the region to think about new ideas and about old ideas that were long held sacrosanct or beyond challenge.  The objective of this Festival is to ensnare the participants to do his or her own thinking.      

We live in an era of knowledge explosion in which, as never before in the history of the world, it is possible for people from diverse lands and cultures to communicate their ideas instantly, facilitating the process of learning from one another.  While the Internet and associated e-tools enable quick dissemination of information, there is still the age-old hurdle.  As Henry Ford observed, thinking is the hardest work there is, which is the probable reason why so few engage in it.  Despite the ease of e-enabling of information, effective use of such information resources is facilitated only by a mind open to questions, a mind ready to attempt the hard work of thinking.  A conference such as this one does not seek to make up anybody's mind, but to open minds and to make the agony of the decision-making so intense the participants can escape only by thinking. 

As HCT starts its third decade, it seeks to establish a global imprint.  We want to share our experiences with the world and we eagerly seek input from thought leaders, world’s best institutions and individuals.   We want to welcome the world to our shores. This Festival of Thinkers is a part of that process of sharing and welcoming.  I look forward to interacting with you during this wonderful gathering of minds.
 

Dr. Tayeb Kamali
Vice Chancellor, Higher Colleges of Technology
Chairman of the Organizing Committee