UAE, May 28, 2017 – As part of its efforts to re-engineer the future of learning through technology, innovation, and scientific research, Hamdan Bin Mohammed Smart University (HBMSU) has revealed that it will organize weekly research seminars to be moderated by academic and industry experts. This move aims to create a high-level research environment with global participation, which can greatly improve the quality of education outcomes and enhance the outputs of faculty, learners and graduates. The new initiative will focus on developing sustainable, flexible, and innovative research capabilities in line with the wise leadership directions to transform universities into research centres that entrench the passion for leadership and knowledge in future generations.

The weekly research seminars represents great importance,  which is expected to see wide participation from HBMSU faculty and administrative members of Master’s and PhD degree holders—also attracting international participation and then engaging the learners in a move that looks to boost the UAE’s global competitiveness based on four key pillars that help build a culture of research at HBMSU--promoting collaborative research with governmental entities and leading research, academic and educational institutions locally, regionally and internationally; aligning research activities and outputs of faculty and learners with HBMSU’s research priorities; and establishing a highly qualified and experienced research team to lead the excellence process of HBMSU in spreading the culture of smart learning and innovation and to encourage serious scientific research in the Arab world.

Dr. Mansoor Al Awar, Chancellor of HBMSU, said: “To achieve HBMSU’s goal of revolutionizing the Arab World’s learning landscape, we should start from within, specifically the development of our research capabilities. Doing so will create, build, and enrich knowledge according to the vision of our wise leadership, who believes in the role of ‘young scientists in building a scientific and knowledge base and national research capacities.’ It is our responsibility to support and implement high-level research studies in various key fields such as smart learning, Total Quality Management, and healthcare and environmental management. This is in line with the directives of H.H. Sheikh Hamdan Bin Mohammed Bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Crown Prince of Dubai, and the President of the University, to create a conducive climate to stimulate scientific research and direct innovation and creativity as the country transitions into a knowledge economy capable of keeping up with the rapid changes in the 21st century.”

“Our weekly sessions are an important addition to our continuous efforts to employ the best internal and external expertise in establishing a strong scientific research culture among our staff, learners, and graduates. Through this initiative, we aim to cement HBMSU’s status as a hub for research excellence across the Arab World, while helping advance the country’s goals under the National Innovation Strategy and the overarching UAE Vision 2021 development agenda. We believe that research is a prerequisite to excellence not only for the academe but for the industries and the government as well. This is the reason we are implementing our initiative in three phases to accommodate all the submitted research from the participants,” Dr. Al Awar added.

HBMSU’s weekly research seminars will be implemented in three stages involving the participation of full-time and associate faculty members, academic administrators, Master’s and PhD degrees holders, international partners, lead researchers, postgraduate learners from the UAE and the world and HBMSU learners. Among the initiative’s critical success factors are the quantity and quality of research outputs;  value of research grants; number of collaborative research teams; portfolio of speakers and researchers; number of research proposals; innovativeness and relevance of presented open research areas; level of planning and organization; level of discussions and engagement; and number of participants. The sessions will be conducted every Thursday on the university campus, with the participation of speakers from various academic disciplines.