Dubai Customs and University of Dubai graduate 6th batch of Customs Leadership Program

Dubai Customs celebrated the graduation of the 6th batch of Customs Leadership Program, which is part of the Government Department’s strategic plan to equip the future customs leaders with the latest skills and proficiencies to ensure sustainable development in all aspects in the customs field.

The graduation ceremony was attended by H.E. Ahmed Mahboob Musabih, Director General of Dubai Customs, CEO of Ports, Customs and Free Zone Corporation, Dr. Eesa Bastaki, President of the University of Dubai, a number of executive directors and heads of customs departments and centers.

In his opening speech, H.E. Ahmed Mahboob Musabih said; “Being armed with knowledge and developing and advancing our competencies and skills have become an integral part of our modern lives so that we can keep pace with the current rapid developments and changes. As we are on the verge of implementing the UAE Centennial 2071, we place the development of our employee skills in mind as a primary goal through which all development paths revolve.

In the midst of these accelerating global changes, the importance of adapting to developments by forming new, more effective future visions for the next stage emerges. This comes through the continuous development in customs sector, stemming from our interest in preparing and qualifying customs leaders as a primary objective at the forefront of our priorities.

With this in mind, we designed the Customs Leadership Development Program in line with Dubai Customs Strategic Plan 2021-2026. In this program, we integrated theoretical knowledge and practical learning, focusing on three training modules: Innovative Customs Management, Digitizing Customs Operations Management, and Agile Leadership. The Customs Development Center sustains the program and supports it in cooperation with the University of Dubai.”

Musabih said the sixth batch of the program targeted inspection managers in the Customs Inspection Division.

He added; “Today we are graduating 16 inspection managers. In the last five editions of this program, 137 employees graduated from the program in all functional areas who proved their efficiency in sustaining our core business and pushing development further to achieve Dubai Customs’ strategic goals, in line with Dubai’s strategic agenda.”

Dr. Al Bastaki applauded the achievement and said it is the fruit of life-long-learning, which should be a part of the journey towards successes and self-development.

Al Bastaki stated that academic institutions who serve the present and future of the market follow 7 pillars of the education system. They are as follows: academic learning, scientific research, community service, innovation, continuous learning, partnership with private sector and partnership with industry. 

Al Bastaki added; “In today’s event, we are recognizing 3 pillars of the seven in executive development: They are continuous learning, partnership with industry, and innovation. Nowadays, the vast changes in services and technological advancements have created challenges to keep up with the pioneers of technological adoption who foresee the future to be implemented today.”

The 6-month program merged theoretical learning with practical training. Each candidate had 6 individual coaching sessions that focused on their role and their goals in their role in Dubai Customs.