UAEU Faculty Member Wins Ibn Battuta Prize for Travel Literature

Today, UAEU ‎Chancellor Zaki Nusseibeh met with faculty ‎member Dr Naeema Al Hosni to congratulate her ‎for winning the 20th Ibn Battuta Prize for Travel ‎Literature (Translated Journey).  Dr Naeema, ‎Assistant Professor of Cartography in the ‎UAEU s Department of Geography and Urban ‎Sustainability was granted the award for her ‎translation into Arabic of the text, Maps and ‎Journeys: Traveling in Africa 1795 1797 ‎originally written by the Scottish geographer and ‎explorer Mungo Park in the early 19th Century. ‎The organiser of the award, the Arab Centre for ‎Geographical Literature, will publish the book in ‎a new edition in co-operation with the Al ‎Mutawassit Publishing House in Milan.‎

During the discussion Chancellor Nusseibeh gave ‎his best wishes to Dr Naeema for taking ‎advantage of the universities rich research ‎environment to work on her translation. He said, ‎‎ The UAEU takes care to identify the support ‎and infrastructure needed by faculty to produce ‎research work of international calibre and ‎competitive standing. We are honoured that Dr ‎Naeema has achieved high standards and ‎widespread recognition for her research work, ‎including this current prize. It is exceptional that ‎she combines her research work with dedicated ‎and prolific service to students and the ‎community .‎

An established cartography scholar, Dr Naeema ‎is an expert in the science or practice of drawing ‎maps. Dr Naeema completed her MA and PhD at ‎the University of Kansas, USA and joined the ‎UAEU shortly afterwards. Since then, she has ‎carved out a prominent and important role ‎within the university, across scholarship, ‎teaching, service and senior administrative ‎positions in her Department, within the College, ‎and at the University level.‎

Dr Naeema s research has produced high-caliber ‎publications, and she has been much in demand ‎to make presentations to national, regional, and ‎international conferences. She has won many ‎grants and prominent accolades and has been ‎honoured by the UAEU Provost for her research ‎outcomes. ‎

As a teacher she is well known for her student-‎centred, interactive pedagogy and her use of ‎inquiry-based methods. Describing her role in ‎the classroom as being a facilitator and guide in ‎a challenging adventure designed to foster ‎collaboration, discourse and discovery , Dr ‎Naeema has played a pivotal part in curriculum ‎development at UAEU. She received the 2017 ‎UAEU Award for Excellence in Teaching and the ‎Khalifa Award for distinction in teaching.‎

Her record of community service includes ‎partnerships with local universities and the ‎Ministry of Education, the Ministry of Youth and ‎Culture, the Ministry of Tourism, the Ministry of ‎Presidential Affairs, and the Ministry of the ‎Interior. She has launched many initiatives ‎aimed at strengthening connections between ‎UAEU's faculty and students and the UAE ‎community through dialogue, outreach, and ‎knowledge exchange. In 2021 she won the ‎UAEU Award for Excellence in Service.‎

The Ibn Battuta Prize for Travel Literature is ‎granted by the Arabic Center for Geographic ‎Literature Irtiyad al-Afaq and is bestowed to ‎the best publications of travel writing and ‎criticism, both in their original and in translation. ‎The Arabic Center for Geographic Literature ‎publishes well-known classic and modern ‎geography and travel literature, including texts ‎authored by Arab Writers and by foreign ‎travellers to the Arab world. The Centre recently ‎began to compile a database of written voyages ‎and has a new focus on publishing geographic ‎journeys and studies dedicated to the United ‎Arab Emirates.