ABU DHABI, 10th August, 2026 (WAM) -- The Ministry of Higher Education and Scientific Research (MoHESR) has officially launched the Higher Education Institutions Indicators Compass. This secure, unified national electronic platform empowers higher education institutions (HEIs) across the UAE to monitor institutional performance and pioneer data-driven decision-making through centralised, interactive dashboards that unify performance indicators and data quality.
The Compass enables HEIs to track performance in alignment with the Outcomes-Based Evaluation Framework (OBEF), monitor data quality indicators, conduct rigorous benchmarking and identify strengths and strategic areas for growth. By providing objective, real-time and reliable data, the platform creates a culture of continuous institutional improvement and enables strategic planning.
Dr. Ahmed Sultan Al Shuaibi, Undersecretary of the Ministry of Higher Education and Scientific Research, said, “The launch of the Higher Education Institutions Indicators Compass represents a paradigm shift in our mission to modernise the higher education ecosystem. By equipping institutions with real-time, comprehensive performance insights, we are enabling a critical evolution from retrospective monitoring to proactive, predictive performance management. The Compass embodies MoHESR’s commitment to institutionalising continuous evaluation, leveraging advanced data analytics to improve performance and integrating AI to elevate the calibre of our academic outputs and support strategic decision-making.”
The Compass is also equipped with artificial intelligence tools designed to help users navigate dashboards, understand key indicators, and respond to data-related queries. This provides a more efficient user experience and enables faster access to data-driven insights to support planning and decision-making processes.
The Compass features robust benchmarking tools that allow institutions to assess their national standing against peer HEIs and evaluate their performance against national averages. By visualising overall scores, institutional rankings, relative market positioning and result distributions, the platform provides the national context required to identify competitive advantages and areas for improvement.
The platform provides restricted access to authorised HEI personnel to ensure data security. To maintain absolute data integrity, users can access the latest processed, integrated datasets and instantly verify the timestamp of the most recent data refresh. The Compass serves as a premier reporting and analytics engine, supporting HEIs in strategic planning and quality assurance.
To ensure seamless integration, MoHESR hosted two specialised introductory workshops, engaging over 370 academic and administrative leaders, quality assurance officers and digital transformation teams from UAE-based HEIs. The sessions introduced participants to the methodology of the Outcomes-Based Evaluation Framework and trained them on maximising the platform to improve data quality and drive strategic outcomes.
The launch of the Compass is a cornerstone of MoHESR’s broader transformative agenda to future-proof the nation's higher education sector. It supports the objectives of the Federal Decree-Law on Higher Education and Scientific Research, which established a modern framework for the governance and development of the sector, centred on the quality of educational outcomes, the use of advanced technologies to enhance data efficiency, the promotion of transparency and evidence-based planning and decision-making.