The Board of Trustees of the Sultan Bin Ali Al Owais Cultural Foundation has announced that the Scientific and Cultural Achievement Award of the 15th session (2016-2017) has been granted to the United Arab Emirates University.
The announcement was made by HE Abdul Hamid Ahmed, Secretary General of the Sultan Bin Ali Al Owais Cultural Foundation, who said that the Board of Trustees came to the decision following a number of discussions and meetings where the 237 nominations submitted to the Foundation were reviewed. Moreover, HE Abdul Hamid Ahmed said that the United Arab Emirates University has been awarded the prize in recognition of the scientific and cultural values it has persisted in establishing in the community and its achievements as the first national university to be established in 1976 by the late Sheikh Zayed bin Sultan Al Nahyan – may Allah have mercy upon him –in the city of Al Ain.
“The Sultan Bin Ali Al Owais Cultural Foundation is proud of making this choice, which coincides with the declaration of 2018 as the “Year of Zayed”, as it was the wish of the late Sheikh Zayed bin Sultan Al Nahyan – may Allah have mercy upon him- for the United Arab Emirates University to serve as a federal university with an Arab and Islamic identity and for it to become a beacon of civilization, thought, culture and science,” HE Abdul Hamid Ahmed said.
In addition, the Secretary General of the Foundation congratulated the United Arab Emirates University for winning the award and pointed out that this is the first time the Scientific and Cultural Award is granted to an educational institution. “The Award underlines the great role played by educational institutions in promoting knowledge and passing it on from one generation to the next, and this is what the Sultan Bin Ali Al Owais Cultural Award aims at, as it strives to offer knowledge to everyone and recognize the achievements of innovators and thinkers. Hence, the Foundation recognizes well-founded scientific achievement that is based on sound theories, which is best embodied by the United Arab Emirates University,” HE Abdul Hamid Ahmed added.
Furthermore, the Secretary General of the Al Owais Cultural Foundation said that the United Arab Emirates University has helped realize the dream of the young nation and has maintained a distinguished level of systemized education that underscores the pivotal role of science and its contribution to enabling and strengthening professional and intellectual leaders in all walks of life. “Our decision to grant the Scientific and Cultural Award to the United Arab Emirates University reflects our great faith in this significant educational institution that has helped supply qualified national personnel to public life. Since its establishment, the University has made it a priority to develop its educational programs and plans as per the needs and demands of the community while maintaining international academic standards and abiding by the values, policies and strategies of the UAE at the same time,” HE Abdul Hamid Ahmed pointed out.
