Top education leaders will be speaking at the three-day Times Higher Education Mena Universities Summit to be held in Abu Dhabi ahead of COP28.
Themed ‘Innovation in times of change’, NYU Abu Dhabi will host the event in partnership with Times Higher Education from November 13 to 15.
“The theme is aligned with our mission to educate and empower youth, conduct research to help tackle the world’s challenges, and drive innovation that improves our societies and the environment,” NYUAD vice chancellor Mariet Westermann said during a media roundtable.
The Summit will highlight the contribution of universities to sustainability, the impact of artificial intelligence on teaching, and higher education’s vital long-term role in supporting the COP agenda.
“Ahead of COP28, this conference will underline the value of collaboration to achieve innovative and sustainable problem-solving in higher education, and discuss how universities today can best equip future generations to have the greatest positive impact.”
Speakers at the event include Zaki Nusseibeh, the cultural adviser to President His Highness Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, and the chancellor of the United Arab Emirates University; Ahmed Dallal, president of The American University in Cairo; professor Dame Heather McGregor, provost at Heriot-Watt University Dubai; Toyin Tofade, president of Albany College of Pharmacy and Health Sciences; and Eric Xing, president of Mohamed bin Zayed University of Artificial Intelligence, and many more regional education leaders.
Nick Davis, president of Middle East and Africa, Times Higher Education, is looking forward to bringing the summit back to the UAE for the first time since 2016.
“Working with NYU Abu Dhabi is always a pleasure, but the enthusiasm and creativity their team have brought to bring together this event has been enviable. This year’s summit will congregate a diverse range of delegates from across the university, corporate and government sectors and will recognise excellence from institutions across the region, seeing the release of the third edition of the Arab University Rankings including an updated methodology,” Davis said and noted that the first-ever Times Higher Education Awards Mena 2023 winners will also be announced.
During the summit, education leaders in higher education will emphasise the promotion of innovation, agility, and strong national and regional collaboration, fuelling the region’s drive towards incorporating sustainability and equity across all aspects of a higher education institution’s outlook and long-term strategy. In doing so, the summit will reflect the commitment of regional universities to positively influence the future, by highlighting the future of their research, and their graduates, and efforts to contribute to the aims of COP28.