UAE's HCT graduates record class of more than 6,700

The UAE's Higher Colleges of Technology celebrated more than 6,700 graduates from the 2025-2026 academic year, which it said was its largest graduating cohort to date.

HCT said the cohort was 43% larger than the previous year's. More than 12,000 people attended the ceremony at Etihad Arena in Abu Dhabi, according to the institution.

The graduates came from HCT campuses across the UAE and from applied bachelor's, vocational diploma and Mahara Career Accelerators pathways. HCT said 804 graduates received distinction or honour recognition, while 14 achieved a cumulative GPA of 4.0.

HCT said it is redesigning its four-year applied bachelor's programmes to include a full year of workplace learning, equal to 25% of the programme. It also said vocational diploma enrolment rose from 379 students in 2022-2023 to 6,276 in 2025-2026, and Mahara Career Accelerators enrolment more than quadrupled in one year to 1,689.

The institution said more than 4,400 graduates from the Class of 2026 had already entered employment. It reported an average annual graduate employment rate of 88% over the past five academic years.