The fifth Graduate Students Research Conference (GSRC) was hosted at Zayed University yesterday, welcoming participating academic units from the UAE to share knowledge and interconnect to maximize research collaboration.

The event, which was launched under the patronage of H.E. Noura Al Kaabi, Minister of Culture and Knowledge Development, President of Zayed University, hosted over 300 presentations on the research conducted by graduate students in different universities within the UAE.

GSRC provided an excellent opportunity for graduate students to their share their research work with their peers, received constructive scholarly feedback and established professional networks for future partnerships.

His Excellency Dr. Mohammed Al-Mualla, Undersecretary of Academic Affairs of Higher Education, at the UAE Ministry of Education, highlighted during his presentation, UAE’s science and innovation strategies to advance innovative knowledge economy transformation. “The national advanced sciences agenda 2031 aims to utilize advanced sciences in the development and creations of solutions of the future challenges in support of vision 2021 and the centennial plan 2071.”

He added that the UAE aspires to develop knowledgeable, skilled, autonomous and value-driven graduates to be leaders of the near future. “Our institutions will deliver high-quality education in both academic and vocational tracks, while also producing world-class research outcomes.”

Moreover, Al-Mualla stated that the Ministry is currently working on promoting 33 initiative to be launched by next year to cover the 11 shifts that have been placed for the transformation of the higher education system to realize its vision in aspects covering quality, efficiency, innovation, and relevance. “Our initiatives will revolve around shaping the faculty of the future, aiming to triple the numbers of Emirati Faculty in research. We need to also offer competitive research funding, also enable universities to provide adequate support for start-ups with clear regulations and setting up technology transfer offices. Moreover, and last but not least invest in knowledge to triple the number of PhD students by providing more funding.”

Prof. Reyadh Al Mehadib, Vice-President of Zayed University, said during his part, “We at Zayed University recognize the role and value of research and graduate studies in enriching the educational experience of our students and in contributing to the development of the country’s knowledge economy.  Accordingly, we take pride in our recent strides and accomplishments in developing our research enterprise where the research productivity of our faculty has increased three times in the last four years.”

Furthermore, “We have recently restructured our graduate studies enterprise and in addition to the current 10 Master programs offered by Zayed University focusing on Education, Business, IT Security, Diplomacy, Communications, and Judicial Studies, we are in the process of introducing new research-oriented master programs in disciplines such as Environmental Sciences, Counseling and Clinical Psychology, and Information Systems and Digital Transformation.  These will enrich and enhance the graduate and research portfolio of the University and will be complemented by financial support opportunities to attract and engage more graduate students in research projects in key areas of strategic interest to the country.”

Dr. Arif Al-Hammadi, Chair of the GSRC Steering Committee, said during his speech, “Not only will prospective graduate students benefit from receiving scholarly feedbacks on their projects but will also be able to learn more about various research opportunities available at the participating academic institutions.” “This conference is the key to get these researches noticed, and which lands it a suitable funding hand to push it forward.”

Dr. Sehamuddin Galadari, Senior Vice-Provost of Research and Managing Director of the Research Institute, at NYU Abu Dhabi, said during the event, “When we see things that are beyond what we perceive, that is when we can make an impact across all aspects.”

“Education in all its disciplines, can grow and reach higher, but it needs to be cared for, nurtured in the right environment and hosted within a proper infrastructure. Education like all major sectors requires helping hands, we faculty members and the government are seeking to guide and fund our undergraduates and graduate students to reach limits beyond what we can see or aim for,” Galadari said.

It is worth mentioning that 170 research papers authored by 349 students in the UAE and their collaborators in 16 international countries were received by the GSRC committee, of which 125 papers were accepted and presented accumulating to about 76 percent of the total.

Research papers submitted, cover five different tracks, in Arts Humanities & Social Sciences, Business and Management, Clinical Pre-Clinical Health and Life Sciences, Information Technology and Computer Science, and lastly Engineering and Physical Science.

The GSRC was organized in collaboration with Khalifa University, UAE University, American University of Sharjah, University of Sharjah, British University in Dubai, Paris-Sorbonne University Abu Dhabi, New York University Abu Dhabi, Abu Dhabi University, and the University of Dubai.

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