HCT Skills 2026: Emirati Students Compete to WorldSkills Standards
Zeta42 · 1 October 2026
The Higher Colleges of Technology honoured 130 winners of HCT Skills 2026, judged to WorldSkills Standards. What was tested, and why hands-on skills matter.
What happened at HCT Skills 2026
What is HCT Skills?
HCT Skills is a student skills competition run by the Higher Colleges of Technology (HCT). The 2026 event was its second edition, and HCT announced the winners at a ceremony at its Dubai Academic City campus, Gulf News reported. Dr Faisal Alayyan, President and CEO of HCT, handed certificates of appreciation to 130 winning students across the competition's categories.
Alayyan placed the competition inside HCT's teaching model. "HCT Skills is an integral component of our applied education model, providing students with a structured journey from preparation and training to competition in authentic, workplace-oriented scenarios," he said.
How many students took part?
More than 800 students applied for the 2026 edition, according to Gulf News, a 60% increase on the 500 who took part in 2025. The competition ran across HCT's campuses in Dubai and Abu Dhabi, and students completed tasks in 39 applied and specialised skills across seven academic fields.
Which skills were tested?
The list was broad. It included cybersecurity, application development, robotics, advanced manufacturing, and aircraft and drone maintenance. It also covered digital design and marketing, health sciences, communication and artificial intelligence, among others. The report does not say how the 130 winners were spread across those skills.
Why the standard matters
What does "WorldSkills Standards" mean here?
Assessment was based on WorldSkills Standards, which Gulf News describes as the benchmarking system for technical and vocational education and training systems worldwide. It gives judges a professional framework for scoring each student's work on accuracy, quality and competence in carrying out the task.
The judges were experts from HCT and partner institutions. They used the evaluation criteria adopted in the Emirates Skills and WorldSkills competitions, taking account of the practical requirements of each skill.
Why test students against an outside standard?
Because it tells a student, and later an employer, something a course grade often cannot: whether the work holds up against a professional benchmark. Alayyan said the competition "enables students to demonstrate their capabilities, identify opportunities for further development and strengthen the competencies required to succeed in an evolving professional environment." He added that it also gives HCT insight into student outcomes and how well its educational approach is working.
What did officials say?
Dr Nasser Humaid Al Nuaimi, Secretary General of Tawazun Council for Defence Enablement, said building advanced sectors begins with developing the talent able to shape and lead them. He called the competition "particularly significant as a platform that brings together young talent from diverse disciplines".
Dr Ahmad Belhoul Al Falasi, Minister of Sports and Chancellor of HCT, praised the students' performance. He said "higher education must anticipate the capabilities that will shape future industrial and economic growth", and that HCT's applied model aligns graduate capabilities with the UAE's strategic priorities and the changing needs of its economic sectors.
From the classroom to the factory floor
Why do hands-on skills matter so much in robotics and manufacturing?
Because in these fields the work either runs or it does not. A robot cell has to pick the right part and place it accurately, cycle after cycle. Scoring on accuracy, quality and competence in execution suits that kind of work far better than a written exam. Those skills only come from hours on real equipment, including the hours when things go wrong.
Where should that practice start?
Well before college. Zeta42 is DOBOT's partner for the UAE and the GCC, and works with one robot family that runs from age three to university: screen-free coding for the youngest, robot arms for teens and industrial cobots for colleges. For UAE schools and colleges, that means DOBOT Magician and Magician E6 desktop robot arms, conveyors and vision kits, with training for the teachers who use them. A student who has already programmed a desktop arm to sort parts off a conveyor arrives at a competition like this knowing what accuracy takes.
And after graduation?
The same skills carry onto the factory floor. When a company brings in a robot, Zeta42 times the job, supplies the robot, integrates it and trains the operators who will run it, and it runs cobot operator workshops for factory teams. Graduates who have been measured against a global standard give employers a clearer picture of what they can already do, and of what still needs training on the job.
Source: gulfnews.com