As part of a program of ‎events to celebrate Australia National Day, on Sunday 30th ‎January His Excellency General the Honourable David ‎Hurley AC DSC (Retd), Governor-General of the ‎Commonwealth of Australia visited the United Arab ‎Emirates University campus in Al Ain together with ‎Australia’s Ambassador to the UAE, Ms Heidi Venamore ‎PSM.  The delegation learnt about the history and mission of ‎the UAEU, its teaching and research infrastructure, its ‎research institutes, and its current portfolio of research and ‎development activities. The visit gave rise to the opportunity ‎to explore the many connections between the UAEU and ‎prestigious Australian universities and research institutions.‎

H.E. General Hurley and Ms Venamore were received at the ‎UAEU campus by H.E. Zaki Nusseibeh, Cultural Adviser to ‎H.H. The President of the UAE and Chancellor of the UAEU, ‎together with Acting Vice Chancellor, Professor Ghaleb Al ‎Hadrami Al Breiki, Acting Provost, Professor Mohammed ‎Hassan Al Qasimi, and Associate Provost for Research, ‎Professor Ahmad Murad. During a tour of the campus the ‎delegation were also welcomed by the entire team working at ‎the National Space Science and Technology Center – a joint ‎venture between UAEU, the UAE Space Agency, and the ‎Telecommunications Regulatory Authority.‎

The Governor-General of Australia is the representative of ‎Her Majesty the Queen of Great Britain and Northern ‎Ireland. The Governor serves as Australia’s Head of State ‎and holds a range of constitutional and ceremonial duties. ‎The Governor is also the Commander-in-Chief of the ‎Australian Defence Force. The Governor encourages, ‎articulates, and represents the things that unite Australia as a ‎nation, and in this respect works within the Australian ‎community in Australia and internationally, travelling widely ‎to encourage and acknowledge individuals and groups ‎making a substantial contribution to the community. It was ‎therefore essential to the Governor’s visit to UAEU that the ‎University demonstrated the current links that the UAEU has ‎with Australia. These links include the UAEU’s Australian ‎faculty members, its students on exchange programmes, ‎various Memoranda of Understanding, several ongoing ‎research programs, and the joint publications of UAEU and ‎Australian universities.‎

Professor Murad explained that in March 2022 the UAEU’s ‎National Water and Energy Centre will collaborate with the ‎Australian Pavilion at EXPO 2020 Dubai to host an ‎international conference, ‘Water Resources Management ‎and Sustainability: Solutions for Arid Regions’.  The ‎conference is being held under the patronage of H.E. Suhail ‎Mohamed Al Mazrouei, UAE Minister of Energy and ‎Infrastructure and the Rt. Hon David Speirs MP, Minister for ‎Environment and Water in the Government of South ‎Australia. Professor Murad said that “The event recognises ‎both the fruitful academic collaboration between the UAEU ‎and our Australian colleagues, and the current and common ‎challenges experienced by the UAE and Australia with ‎respect to developing, managing, and conserving the scarce ‎water resources. The conference will advance techniques and ‎practices to achieve water sustainability”. ‎

Professor Murad told the delegation that the UAEU’s ‎collaborative research programs with over 100 different ‎research Australian institutes have led to 511 coauthored ‎publications in the last 6 years. ‎

He also spoke of 12 on-going research projects between ‎UAEU and several Australian Universities. He told the ‎delegation, “The UAEU intends to expand our research ‎collaboration with prestigious Australian universities and ‎research institutes”.  ‎

Examples of the current research partnerships include:  ‎

•       UAEU College of Engineering - University of ‎Melbourne, University of New South Wales

•       UAEU College of IT - University of Queensland, ‎Western Sydney University, and the University of ‎New South Wales

•       UAEU College of Medicine and Health Sciences - ‎Monash University

•       UAEU College of Food and Agriculture - University ‎of Queensland

•       UAEU College of Science - Curtin University and ‎Curtin Institute of Radio Astronomy and Australian ‎National University

The Chancellor thanked the delegation for their visit to the ‎campus, saying “It is our honour to join with you in ‎celebrating Australia’s National Day and the valuable ‎contribution of Australia and its citizens to the entire UAE ‎community. We are especially grateful that your visit ‎enables us to affirm the international bonds of friendship, ‎intellectual enquiry, and innovative endeavour that are ‎shared between UAEU and Australia’s higher education ‎sector. Our collaboration demonstrates and promotes the ‎importance of openness and tolerance and serves to ‎generate new ideas and practices essential to the future ‎sustainability of our communities and the planet that we ‎share. The future Conference on Water Resources ‎Management is a wonderful example of the outcomes of our ‎collaboration, and rightly takes advantage of the stage ‎provided by Dubai Expo 2020”.‎