UAEU fetes winners of Chancellor’s Innovation Award
AL AIN: Zaki Nusseibeh, Cultural Adviser to the UAE President and Chancellor of the United Arab Emirates University (UAEU), has honoured the winners of the eighth Chancellor’s Innovation Award including faculty members, students, and employees for all different categories of the award.
370 faculty members, researchers, students, and employees participated and submited 146 applications in this round. The students represented 52 percent of the participants, while faculty and staff represented 27 percent and 21 percent, respectively. The percentage of employees has increased as compared to the previous round, which was 16 percent.
Prof. Ahmed Ali Murad, Associate Provost for
Research at UAEU, said that the award contributed to creating a culture of innovation in the university community. The university provided the basic resources and capabilities that help the university community to present innovative ideas for societal challenges.
He added that 15 innovative projects won in the fields of renewable energy, technology, education, water resources, health, and transportation. This session is different in terms of the number of applications. The percentage of submited projects increased by 27.5 percent as compared to last year. The percentage of renewable energy-related participation is 21 percent, and the percentages of technology and health-related participation are 21 percent, and 20 percent, respectively.
Prof. Ahmed Murad indicated that the eighth session was marked by the winning of six student projects in the fields of water resources, renewable energy, health, technology, and transportation, which represents 50 percent of the winning projects. This round of the award is also characterised by the fact that the winning projects are closely related to sustainability in various fields. The water sources projects focused on water treatment and desalination, as well as water resources management in the country. The renewable energy projects targeted the production of hydrogen or green energy and solar energy, along with the use of date waste in the production of useful products, in addition to the use of artificial intelligence in transportation such as the development of road network maintenance systems in the United Arab Emirates and in improving oil production processes and in the field of smart education.
The United Arab Emirates University effectively supports the culture of innovation and promotes an environment that is suitable for innovation through qualitative initiatives.
As part of the university’s pioneering innovation system, the “Chancellor’s Innovation Award” is one of the main initiatives for its development. The award was established in 2016 in response to the National Innovation Strategy.