Dubai Expo 2020 and Ministry of Higher Education and Scientific Research Host Second Thematic Workshop with UAE Scholars

Dubai World’s Fair team gathers academic community to explore Expo 2020 theme assumptions, research and education activities

December 7, 2014 – Dubai, UAE: At the invitation of Dubai Expo 2020 and the Ministry of Higher Education and Scientific Research, UAE academics and researchers were hosted by Zayed University to share their initial reactions and opinions on the Expo’s subthemes – Opportunity, Mobility and Sustainability and explore how their research is and can be aligned with the Expo’s content propositions. Following the one year anniversary of Dubai’s selection as host city of the 2020 mega-event, the Expo team continued their series of community engagement sessions created to develop and share Expo  content and programming plans and strategies aimed to ensure the Expo 2020 experience is meaningful, valuable and dynamic.

The gathering is the second workshop with the academic community, post host city selection, and included more than 100 collegiate thought leaders from national universities and institutions across UAE. Expo 2020 team plans to host similar workshops and discussion sessions with other educational professionals and institutions, throughout the year, to examine existing research, collect feedback on how the Expo can provide substantive content prior to and during the historic UAE event, and explore areas of collaboration with the scholastic community. 

Her Excellency Reem Al Hashimy, the UAE's Minister of State, Director General – Bureau Dubai Expo 2020 and Board Representative of the Dubai Expo 2020 Higher Committee, remarked: “bridging the gap between the academic and research community and the Expo 2020 content development is essential to our ability to create robust, responsive and constructive programming and events during our journey to the Expo and beyond. We appreciate our community stakeholders for sharing their world-class experience and expertise because their active engagement is key to the delivery of a successful and ‘game-changing’ Expo and its legacy.” 

Dr Husam Sultan Al Ulama, Director of the National Research Foundation at the Ministry of Higher Education & Scientific Research, added, "As per the directions of H.E. Sheikh Hamdan Bin Mubarak Al Nahayan, Minister of Higher Education and Scientific Research, we are pleased to work closely with the Dubai Expo 2020 team on promoting the research capacity within UAE Higher Education Research Institutions in verities of top national priority research topics and in line with  UAE 2021 vision.  Dubai Expo 2020 is an exceptional opportunity to showcase innovative studies and theories that are addressing current and future global challenges.”

For more information about Dubai Expo 2020, see http://expo2020dubai.ae