MoU Signed in Abu Dhabi to Focus on Promotion of Partnership with Italian Universities, Research Centers, Companies and Start-Ups
Khalifa University and the Commissioner General’s Office for Italy’s participation in Expo 2020 Dubai today announced they have signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with a view to setting up joint initiatives during the six-month period when the Universal Exposition will be taking place from 1 October 2021 to 31 March 2022.
The MoU was signed by Dr. Arif Sultan Al Hammadi, Executive Vice-President, Khalifa University, Paolo Glisenti, Commissioner-General for Italy’s participation in Expo 2020 Dubai, at a ceremony in Abu Dhabi.
Dr. Al Hammadi said: “We are delighted to sign this MoU with the Commissioner General’s Office for Italy’s participation in Expo 2020 on collaboration activities for Expo 2020 Dubai. As a world-class research-intensive academic institution, Khalifa University’s research strengths in strategic economic sectors are widely acknowledged globally, and this MoU will further strengthen our resolve to reach out to more stakeholders in Italy and Europe for educational, research, and industrial collaboration.”
“Khalifa University is already collaborating with Italian universities, research centers and companies and we believe this MoU will help further consolidate our status as the most preferred academic institution for expertise in advanced technologies, while highlighting the UAE’s profile as a knowledge-economy that welcomes innovation in emerging areas of science,” Dr. Al Hammadi added.
Commissioner Glisenti said: “The partnership with Khalifa University opens a fundamental channel of Scientific Diplomacy between Italy and the UAE and sets the conditions for making Expo 2020 Dubai a milestone in the collaborative international model of innovation, which will guide and inspire the course of history after the pandemic.”
Under the agreement, the partners commit themselves to scientific and cultural collaboration and plan joint activities, initiatives and projects during Expo 2020 Dubai.
Khalifa University and the Commissioner General’s Office for Italy’s participation in Expo 2020 Dubai will promote exchange of know-how between the countries of the expanded Mediterranean and the MENA (Middle East and North Africa) region, and in particular in the UAE, with scholarships, internships, exchange and cooperation programs between students, teachers, researchers and other support systems.
The MoU also focuses on the development of new business models and the training of new skills and themes of Expo Dubai before and during the six-month period of the Universal Exhibition.
The partners will collaborate to implement initiatives and partnerships between the network of Italian universities, research centers, companies and start-ups that participate in Expo 2020 Dubai with the Italian Pavilion and Khalifa University in strategic sectors of common interest including aerospace, biomedical, health, life science, materials science, human and social sciences, creative burns, sustainable energy, protection of biodiversity and the environment, nanosciences and biotechnologies, as well as information technologies.
Khalifa University is already collaborating with several Italian partners including the University of Salerno, Scuola Superiore Sant’Anna, University of Milan, and the Ca’ Foscari University of Venice, as well as the Ambienthesis Group.
Staff Report
17 February 2021
