Today's Edition
ABU DHABI (ALETIHAD)
His Excellency Sheikh Nahyan bin Mubarak Al Nahyan, Minister of Tolerance and Coexistence, attended a seminar organised by the Emirates Centre for Strategic Studies and Research in cooperation with the United Arab Emirates University (UAEU), entitled ‘United Arab Emirates University and the Journey of Higher Education: Fifty Years of Leadership in Scientific Research and Education.’
The seminar was held at the centre’s headquarters in Abu Dhabi in the presence of His Excellency Zaki Anwar Nusseibeh, Cultural Adviser to the UAE President and Chancellor of UAEU, alongside a group of officials, academics, experts and specialists.
The seminar was held as part of the celebrations marking UAEU’s Golden Jubilee. It highlighted the university’s five-decade journey and its contributions to developing the higher education system, preparing national talent and leaders, advancing scientific research and generating knowledge. It also explored the future of university education amid rapid transformations and the requirements of sustainable development and the knowledge economy.
The seminar opened with a keynote address by His Excellency Sheikh Nahyan bin Mubarak Al Nahyan, in which he said: “Around this time, forty-nine years ago, the late Sheikh Zayed bin Sultan Al Nahyan, The UAE’s Founding Father, graciously inaugurated the United Arab Emirates University, the country’s first institution of higher education.
With God’s help, it was to become a leading national university that embodies the spirit and aspirations of the Union, guided throughout its journey by a clear vision, strong determination and a commitment to serving society and humanity.
“The establishment of this university by the UAE’s Founding Father, and his continued strong support for it, reflected his confident vision for the future of the nation and embodied his firm belief in the role of education in shaping that future.
It also expressed his unwavering commitment to developing the abilities of the sons and daughters of the UAE and providing them with opportunities to fulfil their ambitions and deepen their contributions to all aspects and activities of society.
“Today, as we celebrate the beginning of the fiftieth year since the university’s inauguration, we give abundant thanks to God that, through His grace, we are blessed with the effective and wise leadership of His Highness Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, President of the UAE, may God protect him. His Highness follows the path of the UAE’s Founding Father with wisdom and foresight.
He consistently affirms his strong support for the university and regards it as an important means of enabling the nation to respond successfully to the needs of the age and creatively to its developments and requirements.
“Today, we take pride in His Highness the UAE President’s interest in the university and his directives that it should be a full partner in development, productivity and shaping the future of this cherished nation.
Today, we say: thank you, Your Highness, for your clear commitment to the university’s ongoing development and to enabling it to fulfil its roles in nurturing generations, safeguarding achievements and contributing to the comprehensive development of society.
“Today, I particularly recall His Highness the UAE President’s gracious initiative to establish the university’s permanent campus in such a magnificent and distinguished form. It was a dream that we at the university and throughout the community had cherished for many years.
I also clearly remember what His Highness told me at the time: that he was deeply committed to providing all the resources and capabilities the university needed to become, in every sense, a distinguished and progressive world-class university, whose journey clearly reflects the progress and advancement of the UAE itself.
“It gives me great pleasure and honour today to extend to His Highness the UAE President my sincerest gratitude, loyalty and respect, and to pray to Almighty God to grant His Highness success so that the UAE may always remain a nation of dignity, pride and progress.
I also pray that UAE University will always be, as His Highness wishes it to be, an example of a successful and pioneering educational institution in which the nation takes pride.
“I am delighted to join you today at this seminar, where you are discussing aspects of the university’s successful journey. I thank the Emirates Centre for Strategic Studies and Research for its kind initiative in giving us all the opportunity to express our pride in the United Arab Emirates University, which has now, thanks to God, reached a fine stage of maturity and growth.
“I spent thirty years in the service of this university, which is dear to us all. I hope you will allow me to share some observations on its journey, drawing on my experience there and my great appreciation of its contributions and achievements from its founding until today. I hope, God willing, that these observations will be useful to your discussions at this seminar.
“The first observation is that the university has always followed, and continues to follow with God’s help, the wise path set for it by its great founder, the late Sheikh Zayed bin Sultan Al Nahyan.
Here, I recall what the Founding Father of the UAE used to tell me: that he wanted UAE University to be a national melting pot bringing together students from all the emirates, as a powerful expression of the unity of the nation, the strength of the Union and the country’s growing standing in the region and the world.
“I recall today how the Founding Father of the UAE used to tell me that he wanted the university to be, in every sense, a centre of expertise for the community, capable of responding effectively to the nation’s aspirations.
He wanted its education to affirm identity, celebrate heritage, safeguard faith, respect traditions, nurture culture, remain open to the world and contribute to developing well-rounded individuals who serve their community, their country and their wider nation.
“May God have mercy on him. On every occasion, he would tell me that he wanted the university to play an important role in understanding our present circumstances and realities, helping to develop and improve them, while at the same time taking the nation towards the horizons of the future, so that, with God’s help, we would be able to meet the challenges of the age with ability and competence.
“As I recall all of this today, I see it as an occasion on which we are honoured to dedicate the university’s achievements throughout its distinguished journey to the cherished memory of the Founding Father of the UAE.
Indeed, I say today with great pride that the celebration of the university’s founding must be, first and foremost, a celebration of the greatness of the founder of the nation and the university, an expression of pride in his legacy and achievements, and an occasion to renew our pledge that this university will always live up to his ambitions and hopes for it.
“On this occasion, I am also delighted to note that the growing number of female students at the university, and the important responsibilities they assume in society after graduation, have been and continue to be a living reflection of the efforts of Her Highness Sheikha Fatima bint Mubarak, the Mother of the Nation[RK1], to empower women in society, prepare them to serve their country and contribute to its advancement and progress.
I extend my heartfelt greetings, deep gratitude and highest respect and appreciation to Her Highness the Mother of the Nation, in recognition of her great contributions and her distinguished efforts to empower women, and of her central role in the development of society and its people in our beloved nation.
“As I say all of this, I give abundant thanks to God that I, together with everyone working at the university, lived up to the trust placed in us and responded to this wise guidance, strong support and growing expectations.
From the outset, we resolved that the overarching goal of the university’s journey would be for it to become, in practice, one of the world’s first-class universities and, God willing, to affirm its standing as the leading university in the country and the region.
“It was clear to us from the beginning that achieving these desired international standards meant, first and foremost, that the university should serve UAE society, remain faithful to its values and principles, and be capable of responding to its needs and requirements.
It meant that the university should look to the future with confidence, fulfil its important role in building the country’s knowledge society and take its rightful place in the UAE’s journey of growth and progress across all fields.
“The second observation is that we faced major challenges in pursuit of these ambitious goals for the university. They were met with firm determination and strong resolve, reflecting our complete conviction from the outset that the effective conduct of our work required every member of the university community to pursue continuous and effective action across many areas.
I would particularly mention ten:
“The first area is that UAE University is the country’s first national university. This carries an important responsibility to provide outstanding education and to contribute effectively to economic, cultural and social development in the nation, within a clear understanding of its vital role in the country’s higher education system and through cooperation and coordination with all institutions within that system.
“The second area is the need for a comprehensive, systematic and informed understanding of developments at leading international universities and of the advanced practices they adopt. I, together with everyone working at the university, was always keen to assess where we stood in relation to those universities and to use that understanding to guide the development and implementation of our plans.
“The third area is our full recognition at UAE University that long-established international universities are the product of the efforts and expertise of their faculty members and staff.
It was therefore necessary for us to attract outstanding individuals and ensure that everyone was fully capable of meeting the demands of university work with skill and competence. In this way, distinguished schools of thought could emerge within the university, enriching university life and building bridges of cooperation and continuing engagement with the community.
“The fourth area is the focus on continuously raising the standard of student preparation at the university and the importance of connecting this to the need for qualified graduates in workplaces across the country.
“From the beginning, we resolved to maximise the university’s role in supporting Emiratisation across the country. This involved, in particular, providing quality education, ensuring employment opportunities for graduates and establishing productive, lasting relationships with employers and workplaces.
We give abundant thanks to God that the university’s graduates, both men and women, now represent a large number of the community’s leaders and pioneers at every level, contributing to prosperity and progress throughout the nation and across all fields.
“The fifth area is our longstanding commitment to making strategic planning the foundation of our work. The strategic plan consistently served as a guide for our journey and a basis for all activities and initiatives, within a framework of ongoing efforts to achieve quality and excellence in every aspect of our work.
“The sixth area of work is our recognition from the outset that, for UAE University to be among the world’s first-class universities, it needed to expand its postgraduate programmes and affirm its vital and active role in scientific research.
We put in place all the means and procedures necessary to achieve high international standards in master’s and doctoral programmes on the one hand, and to create an environment that encourages faculty members and students to conduct scientific research and disseminate its results widely on the other.
“The seventh area is the detailed plans we always had to gain a comprehensive understanding of the community’s needs, stay informed about the issues that matter to it, engage with its organisations and institutions, and help connect its progress with developments and changes taking place around the world.
“The eighth area is the university’s important role in setting an example, not only in the beneficial use of modern technologies, but also in appropriately developing those technologies and transferring them to the community with efficiency and responsibility.
“The ninth area was obtaining international academic accreditation for the university and for all its colleges and programmes. This was an important goal for us at the university, with the aim of placing it, God willing, among the world’s long-established universities.
“The tenth area is the great importance attached to the university’s reputation in the region and the world. We were always keen to affirm its good reputation, strengthen the community’s support for it and its commitment to the university’s objectives, as we worked towards making it one of the world’s first-class universities.
We relied on complete transparency, adopted clear performance indicators and published information about the university’s operations and its commitment to continuously improving its work across all fields.
“The informed pursuit of these ten areas, and many others, during my period of service at the university helped, in my view, to create an atmosphere characterised by vitality and effectiveness.
It encouraged achievement and contribution and motivated students, faculty members and staff alike. Together, we always made every effort to turn the university’s aspirations into tangible realities, which, thanks to God, helped establish its credibility in the community and enabled it to reach this advanced stage of success and achievement.
“In this context, it is truly heartening to see the theme adopted by the university for this year’s celebrations: ‘A Deep Legacy, A Promising Future’. This theme represents the resolve and determination to continue the journey with diligence and commitment, guided by an intelligent strategic outlook, a sound scientific approach and a full understanding of the university’s place in society and the UAE’s position and standing in the region and the world.
“I take this opportunity to express my profound appreciation and gratitude to every member of the university community, foremost among them its Chancellor, His Excellency my dear brother Zaki Nusseibeh.
We thank them sincerely for all their efforts to ensure that the university remains a successful national institution by every measure. Today, I also express my great pride in what I observed during my service at the university: that everyone was always committed to achieving excellence and distinction in every field, working together in a spirit of teamwork and with a full commitment to integrity and honesty in both personal and professional conduct.
“We can all be proud that the United Arab Emirates University, thanks to the support it has received from the leadership and the community, and to the efforts of all its faculty members and staff, has established firm foundations and clearly defined its objectives.
It continues its journey with awareness and intelligence, successfully embodying the expectations of its great founder and the hopes and ambitions of His Highness the UAE President, may God protect him. It contributes with diligence and commitment to serving society and humanity and to advancing global progress in every field.
“I wish the university, everyone who works there and those responsible for it every success and extend my sincere congratulations to them all as they draw on the university’s achievements today as a strong foundation for moving towards the future, responding creatively to the nation’s aspirations and contributing effectively to its progress and growth.”
The seminar included a panel discussion entitled ‘UAE University and the Journey of Nation Building: A Legacy of Knowledge and a Partnership for the Future’, featuring His Excellency Professor Ahmed Ali Alraeesi, Vice Chancellor of UAEU, and His Excellency Dr Sultan Mohammed Al Nuaimi, Director-General of the Emirates Centre for Strategic Studies and Research.
His Excellency Professor Ahmed Ali Alraeesi affirmed that UAE University has played a pivotal role since its founding in preparing national talent and leaders. He noted that its journey has witnessed significant transformations, from its founding phase to the expansion of scientific research and postgraduate programmes.
He added that the university continues to develop its academic programmes in line with national priorities and global developments, particularly in artificial intelligence and future-oriented fields.
His Excellency Dr Sultan Mohammed Al Nuaimi affirmed that the establishment of UAE University embodied the forward-looking vision of the late Sheikh Zayed bin Sultan Al Nahyan, who recognised the importance of education in developing people and preparing national talent.
He stressed that the role of universities extends beyond academic education to generating knowledge and strengthening research capabilities, making cooperation between universities and research centres an important factor in building the country’s knowledge base and strategic capabilities.
The seminar also included another panel discussion entitled ‘The University’s Role in Building National Human Capital: Future Skills and the Labour Market’. It featured Her Excellency Dr Farida Al Hosani, Chief Executive Officer of the Global Institute for Disease Elimination; Dr Nesma Hannawi, Assistant Dean for Student Affairs at the College of Engineering; and Dr Ahmed Al Mulla, Chair of the Department of Government and Society at UAE University.
Her Excellency Dr Farida Al Hosani affirmed that the leadership’s early focus on investing in people helped advance the country’s development journey by decades. She stressed the importance of UAE University’s role in preparing a generation capable of leading in the future.
Dr Nesma Hannawi explained that rapid changes in the labour market require students to be equipped with critical thinking and digital skills, as well as the ability to adapt.
Dr Ahmed Al Mulla noted that technological developments have changed the nature of jobs, emphasising the importance of investing in human capabilities and developing thinking and analytical skills to meet future requirements.
The seminar concluded by highlighting the importance of continuing to develop the higher education system and strengthening the role of universities in preparing qualified national talent to keep pace with future changes.
It also emphasised the development of skills related to technology and innovation, and stronger alignment between higher education outcomes and labour market requirements.
