Capital’s ‘academic majlis’ celebrates 10 years of growth at NYUAD Institute
Ten years ago, Lebanese novelist Elias Khoury took to the stage at the New York University Abu Dhabi Institute, leading the first of hundreds of conferences and events to be held at the centre.
More than 700 speakers have since stood on that platform, inspiring discussions about literature, politics, art, research and science. Today, Khoury returns as a reminder of what the institute has achieved in a decade.
Established in 2008, the institute precedes the university by two years. To commemorate its 10th anniversary, the institute will hold talks, screenings, workshops and an exhibition, free of charge and open to the public until the end of the year.
Khoury will lead a discussion about his work and the Arab literary scene since he last spoke at the institute.
Noura Al Kaabi, Minister of Culture and Knowledge Development, Omar Al Olama, Minister of State for Artificial Intelligence, and Rakesh Suri, chief executive Cleveland Clinic Abu Dhabi will speak at the institute in the coming months.
It was established to introduce New York University to Abu Dhabi, with many professors from the US flying over to take part in panel discussions before the university opened.
The institute became known for its talks on genomics, metaphysics, meta-ethics, mathematics and translation of Arabic literature.
“In certain fields the institute has become internationally known as a meeting place of minds,” said Philip Kennedy, vice provost for public programming at the institute.
“In its early days, the institute allowed NYUAD to bring professors from NYU to give talks in Abu Dhabi. We were the only forum that could do that on an intellectual and consistent basis.”
Through the institute, the community saw the university had a presence in the emirate.
“The institute has grown in a significant way,” Mr Kennedy said.
“We went from 20 events a year to 65 events a year. The Intercontinental hotel auditorium became our home for a while.
“When we moved to Saadiyat Island we got our own room where we could seat 300 people. As we developed the institute, we balanced subjects of local interest with topics of global significance.”
Topics such as archaeology and history in the UAE became particularly popular.
Nobel laureates and international professors have shared space with UAE ministers to discuss economic diversification.
Gila Bessarat-Waels, assistant director of academic programmes, compared the institute to an “academic majlis”, attracting people from across the city.
“Our talks would attract 50 people but now we get between 170 and 200,” Ms BessaratWaels said. “There is still a feeling of a majlis, where people gather to listen to someone talk.
“Some people have been coming for the 10 years. Many people stay for refreshments. Many have become friends and some have even got married.”
Martin Klimke, vice provost for academic policies and governance and associate professor of history at the university, said: “There is a sense of welcoming. It’s a community of like-minded individuals.”