Dubai:  H.E. Zaki Nusseibeh, Cultural Advisor to the UAE President and Chancellor of the United Arab Emirates University (UAEU) opened the UAEU Pavilion at the World EXPO 2020 in Dubai today. The opening ceremony was attended by H.E. Reem Al Hashimi, Minister of State for International Co-operation, H.E. Hussain Al Hammadi, Minister of Education, and other VIPs from local authorities.

The UAEU Pavilion will showcase the university’s achievements in scientific research, innovation, advanced technology, and educational development, and will be used productively to evolve the university’s work and discover the ‘Future of Education’.  H.E. explained in his welcoming speech that the Pavilion is an opportunity to collaborate with researchers, scientists, educators, and students from all over the world. He said, “We are proud to shine a spotlight on the university’s achievements, and we are excited to welcome visitors from many countries and work together with them. The UAEU Pavilion is a laboratory for the future. In the next six months we will connect the finest minds to create scientific solutions for a sustainable future and to discover how best to educate future generations of university students”.

The United Arab Emirates University is the nation’s comprehensive, research-intensive academic institution.  It is dedicated to supporting the nation’s development towards its future vision of social, economic, and environmental sustainability and wellbeing.  The UAEU is the only university to have a dedicated Pavilion at the EXPO 2020 Dubai.  H.E. reminded the audience that no university exists on its own. “A university depends on the nation and society that supports it, and on the strength of the international higher education system.  The UAEU depends on universities across the world for essential activities such as peer review, external examination, accreditation and quality assurance, research collaboration, scientific publication and editorial, student exchange and recruitment, and faculty exchange, promotion, and hiring processes. The UAEU could not exist without a global higher education system that is vigorous, and committed to collaboration, solidarity, and the support of excellence.  The UAEU is therefore proud to represent higher education at EXPO 2020 Dubai, and to welcome colleagues in the global academic community to visit and work with us in the UAEU Pavilion”.

H.E. also called the audience’s attention to university students.  He said, “At UAEU, students are the centre of our work.  Our vision is that they are the leaders of the future. We educate students to see themselves as the world’s future researchers, inventors, and entrepreneurs. At UAEU students develop the skills necessary to take their place as the architects of their own futures. Our students understand that a university education is the beginning of a lifetime of learning”. 

It is for these reasons that the UAEU Pavilion has a space dedicated to transforming university curriculum and pedagogical process.  It will host activities such as the Pathfinders Program and the Asian Universities Alliance Future of Learning Accelerator Bootcamp, as part of the Institute of the Future Initiative. H.E. explained that it is important that universities continue to evolve as educational institutions.  “Our activities in the Pavilion invite the international community of students and scholars to address vital questions. ‘What is the education that best prepares students for their future? What is the best way to produce a lifelong learner, an architect of the future, and a leader in research, innovation, and entrepreneurship?  Are there different answers to these questions if you live in different parts of the world?  What can people from different countries learn from each other?’”

H.E. encouraged the audience to share both his conviction that EXPO 2020 Dubai will generate great advances for global wellbeing and his confidence in the positive contribution of the UAEU Pavilion.  He said, “It brings me great joy to know that the UAEU will host and welcome people from all over the globe in our Pavilion. Our visitors will learn how the UAEU serves a sustainable future through its scientific research and innovation in advanced technologies, by studying better ways of organising society, and by developing creative talents and putting imagination to work.  We are excited to learn from our visitors and exchange ideas to advance our work”. On a personal note, he concluded by saying, “However, most importantly, during our meetings over the next six months we will build connections, understanding, and mutual respect.  These are the conditions of peaceful coexistence, and of course, peaceful coexistence is the foundation of future wellbeing as a global community”.