Begin with this premise: To change a mind is to change the world. Now transform that premise into an organizing principle. Imagine that a single act of inspiration holds the capacity to excite other minds and draw them toward a common purpose.

Then imagine an environment where such energy is free to move, like a current, through an entire organization. A particular kind of community begins to take shape.

Now see that energy harnessed in pursuit of shared goals- all within a single place and across three decades. Finally , give that place a name.

Emirates Centre for Education and Development in this place we join the discipline of scholarship with the practice of pedagogy and place both in service to all – whether native born or born abroad. And we do so in a community unique in the world – that most intensely global, outrageously divers locale known as Fujairah, UAE.

In this way we hope to conceive what is often only imagined – a kind of useful excellence – one that celebrates potential as well as achievement. It is a vision we carry in trust from our founders which hold holds that for an education institution to be true to its students, the education must be true to life.

Today, however, we inhabit a new educational landscape, one those founders would hardly recognize. We are compelled to explore new educational forms, better connect to other institutions, and remind ourselves continually that educational aspirations can last a lifetime.

ECED graduates are well prepared to face the challenges of our complex world. ECED is a doorway through which students pass to many more achievements. For example, students use the skills they acquired in our English language program to become successful pilots, their hands-on-experience in accounting and business courses to secure a great job in the business arena , their artistic experience to compose great works of art , or their work with a local high-tech industry to become an entrepreneur.

We hope for more from our students than achievement in the world of scholars and business. We intend to provide experiences for our students to continue to grow as human beings. ECED students enter the world prepared for life.

The best part of ECED is you – our next student! As we build a great institution, we welcome great students who will challenge the faculty and stuff. We use our outstanding alumni to inspire the next generation of students. We welcome immigrant students to use ECED as a gateway to their family and friends so that they, too, can succeed in life. We welcome the returning adult student who never though college was for them, as well as the student just graduated from high school. Together, the rich mix of people, ideas and projects makes emirates centre for education and development outstanding.

On behalf of our outstanding faculty, dedicated student service professionals and current students, I welcome you to Emirates Centre for Education and Development.
 

This in broad strokes is the spirit that animates our efforts. Now to the strategic themes that define where we shall go. We will :

• Pursue academic quality across disciplines and cultures for the purpose of developing minds ready for the challenge of further study and a competitive marketplace.

• Support student success that leads to a life of personal fulfillment, economic security and community service.

• Expand community as we seek to become both a resource for a richly varied city and a responsive partner of the world.

• Embrace diversity, not just for what it teaches us about ourselves – but with an international perspective – for what it tells us about how we are to live on our very crowded planet.

• Create a supportive environment where each member is encouraged to believe that even failure can be a valuable as success so long as excellence is the goal.

• Promote fiscal and management effectiveness by the wise stewardship of resources required to insure the on going strength of the college.

The result, we believe, is a place that both gives hope in the present and thought to the future. A place rooted in a desert city and yet a citizen of the world.