Page - 170 - in Radical Solutions and Open Science - An Open Approach to Boost Higher Education

178 R.Y.Hamzah tohaveunique responses to these factors inorder tomaintain their competitiveness andqualityof education.Thecompetitivenessof institutesofhigher educationwill dependupon their responsiveness to thesevariablesofchange. TheUniversityofBahrain,establishedin1986, is thenationalflagshipuniversity of theKingdomofBahrainwithanenrollmentofmore than twenty-eight thousand five hundred (28,500) students and over eight hundred (800) facultymembers. It is comprised of nine different colleges offering ten doctoral degrees, twenty-six masters, and forty-sevenbachelors programs, in addition to eight postgraduate and fourteenassociatediplomas. In2016,theUniversityofBahrainlaunchedastrategyplandesignedtoaddressthe challenges of the 21st century, namely:TransformationPlan 2016–2021.ThePlan wasdevelopedtoincorporate thegoalsof theBahrainEconomicVision2030(2008) of striving to develop an efficient and effective government, a robust knowledge- economythatbenefits thepeopleof theKingdom,anda just and thrivingsociety. It further integrates the themesof theNationalHigherEducationStrategy2014–2024 ofenhancing theoverall qualityofhigher education inBahrain to: • graduate job-readystudents,professionally,andpersonally,and toenable themto fulfil theirpotential andcontribute to society; • aligningBahrain’shighereducationsector tomeetcurrentandfutureregionaland nationalpriorities; • improving the linkages between higher education, vocational and continuing education toprovideequitableandstrategicaccess; • leveraging the newest trends in education technology to leap Bahrain’s higher educationsector; • creatinganentrepreneurshipecosystemfor students inBahrain; and • leveragingresearchtoenhancetheoverallcompetitivenessofBahrain’seconomy. The Plan also incorporates the objectives of the Bahrain’s National Research Strategy, launched in2014, to: • participate in theestablishmentof anational researchgovernance infrastructure; • improvepublic awarenessandunderstandingof researchand innovation; • addressnational researchpriorities, strengthen theuniversity’s researchcapacity; and • strengthen the integrationof the university programswith industry, international research institutions, and entities focused on Bahrain’s economic and social priorities. ThePlanfurther is inalignmentwith thekingdom’sendeavors toachieve theUN SustainableDevelopmentGoals2030 (UNESCO,2017). ThisPaperpresent theUniversityofBahrain as acase study todiscuss theways andmeans inwhich theUniversity isaddressing thesechallenges through itsTrans- formationPlan. ThePaper discusses the key pillars of the Plan, aswell as the key performance indicatorsused toassess itsprogress towards itsgoals.