ameinfo.com (United Arab Emirates): Shell supports Dubai's efforts to raise the bar in quality of education by introducing business ethics in the curricula: Posted Monday 3 October 2005

Organised by the Dubai Ethics Resource Center (DERC), the Future Leader Program has been developed and implemented in association with a number of academic institutions such as the Higher College of Technology Dubai Men's College, the Higher College of Technology Dubai Women's College, Zayed University, University of Wollongong and Dubai University College.

'Shell is delighted to extend its support to the Future Leader Program which complements our strategy of promoting young business leaders in the region,' said Hussain Al Mahmoudi, Head of External Affairs and HSSE (Health, Safety, Security and Environment), Shell. 'This program is an extremely well targeted initiative that empowers youngsters with the required knowledge and skills to assume responsible positions and become effective leaders. The Future Leader Program has significant strategic importance to the UAE in general and Dubai in particular, as it will highlight the need and value of introducing business ethics in the education system. Ethics education is more than just studying the code of professional conduct, but rather a process whereby individuals become more consciously involved in making ethical decisions. A profession's ability to self-regulate may be ineffective unless individual professionals understand and apply their profession's ethical standards in actual practice.'

'Moreover, the remarkable growth in Dubai's business sector has created an added emphasis to inculcate ethics among our youngsters, who are the pillars of the country's economy,' he added.
'The Dubai Ethics Resource Center has made a positive impact in Dubai by providing knowledge resources and value added services. We hope to see the benefits of these services spread to other parts of the region to ensure balanced and all round growth,' said Al Mahmoudi.

'The Future Leader Program provides a platform for cross-sector collaboration in youth development, a vital strategic objective of the UAE and other GCC countries. It engages business and academic organizations in identifying and
developing pedagogical tools that prepare university level students to tackle ethical challenges in the work place,' said Alex Zalami, Executive Director, Dubai Ethics Resource Center.

As part of the Future Leader Program, a summer internship program was held recently for students from local colleges and universities. Several students from the Dubai Women's College, Zayed University and the University of Wollongong, Dubai Campus were honored for researching and documenting corporate social responsibility programs at local and regional companies, including Dubai Aluminium Company (Dubal), the Kanoo Group and the Alexandria Carbon Black Company in Egypt.