(MENAFN- Khaleej Times)

The widening gap between academic theory and industry practice has become one of the most persistent concerns across sectors as diverse as law enforcement, finance, technology and governance.

“Of course we are enhancing the capabilities of dealing with risks,” said Professor Hossam Alshenraki, Head of Police Management Dept, Dubai Police Academy during a panel discussion under the title of Bridging Academia and Practice: Elevating GRC dialogue in the GCC at GCC GRC Day 2025- UAE edition.

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Alshenraki explained that modern policing is risk management at its core. From cybercrime to AI-enabled threats, the landscape evolves faster than traditional curricula, which is why their responsibility is to ensure that officers and students are equipped to operate at this new frontier with both technical expertise and ethical clarity.

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He explained further that new outcome-based performance indicators introduced by the Ministry of Education oblige universities to embed industry collaboration into their curricula. This shift marks a departure from the traditional approach, where academic programmes often evolved independently of corporate needs.

Students are now expected to work directly with industry partners, while universities must demonstrate tangible engagement through joint research, practitioner-led teaching and alignment with international standards such as ISO 27001 and NIST. The emphasis here is to ensure graduates enter the workforce with the practical competencies required in fields such as cybersecurity, crisis management and risk governance, areas shaped by real-time threats rather than static theory.

Industry voices echoed through different panels the urgency of this transition. Governance, they argued, is not merely an institutional obligation but a cultural requirement that underpins credibility in increasingly global markets.

The UAE's recent overhaul of its anti-money-laundering framework, now aligned with FATF guidelines, is an example of how clear, coherent regulation can elevate international confidence. Regulators such as the Central Bank, DFSA and Abu Dhabi Accountability Authority were credited with professionalising oversight and setting the tone for responsible business practice.

Lt. Col. Saeed Al Shebli, Executive Director at the Ministry of Interior, said during a panel discussion under the title Guardians of Trust, Security, Regulation & Privacy by Design, that the coordinated regulatory landscape is reinforced by national structures such as the UAE Cybersecurity Council.

“The council serves as a centralised centre of gravity,” he said,“where the national strategy, vision and frameworks are set for all organisations across the country. At the same time, it provides the flexibility needed for entities; including the police and institutions across different sectors, to adapt and customise these rules while remaining aligned with the broader national direction.”

Yet, regulation alone is insufficient without talent capable of interpreting and applying it properly.

“There are a lot of frameworks but mainly we can adopt frameworks to identify and understand the risk or the severity of the information. We can eliminate what is expected. It is better for you to understand the frameworks that will help you manage and organise your procedure,” said Hesa Al Matrooshi, Director of Information Technology AFZA, during the same panel discussion.

This is where professional bodies see a widening opportunities and a growing concern. Despite the region's technological ambitions, only a handful of universities have active student groups connected to global certification pathways in audit, cybersecurity and governance.

Mansoor AlAlwan, Chief Audit Executive, The benefit company, described his surprise at discovering that across the Middle East, only one or two institutions had structured engagement with the organisation's programmes. For a generation expected to enter a labour market dominated by digital transformation and AI-driven systems, this gap is untenable. Early exposure to standards, certifications and ethical frameworks, he argued, would prevent young professionals from learning by trial and error as many in the current workforce had to.

Case-based learning emerged as another recurring theme. Whether in criminal investigation or corporate audit, panelists stressed that students gain the most when confronted with real scenarios: flawed investigations, governance failures, cyber breaches or risk-management breakdowns. Such exercises expose the complexity of decision-making and force students to compare textbook methodology with actual practice.

This approach has gained traction as universities consider how to integrate AI, data-driven tools and digital forensics into their programmes in areas where the gap between academic understanding and industry use is widening rapidly.

Regulation should facilitate, not merely mandate, this alignment between the academic and industry voices. Senior executives, particularly board members, need continual upskilling to understand the implications of new technologies and evolving risks. Meanwhile, professionals advocating for governance must model those standards within their own organisations.

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