H.E. Zaki Anwar Nusseibeh - Cultural Advisor to H.H. the President of the UAE - Chancellor of the UAE University honored the winners of the eighth Chancellor’s Innovation Award including faculty members, students and employees for all different categories of the award. 370 faculty members, researchers, students and employees participated and submitted 146 applications in this round. The students represented 52% of the participants, while faculty and staff represented 27% and 21%, respectively. The percentage of employees has increased as compared to the previous round which was 16%.

Prof. Ahmed Ali Murad - Associate Provost for Research at UAEU- said that the award contributed to creating a culture of innovation in the university community. The university provided the basic resources and capabilities that help the university community to present innovative ideas for societal challenges.

Prof. Ahmed Murad added that 15 innovative projects won in the fields of renewable energy, technology, education, water resources, health and transportation. This session is different in terms of the number of applications.  The percentage of the submitted projects increased by 27.5% as compared to last year. The percentage of renewable energy –related participations is 21%, and the percentages of technology and health-related participations are 21%, 20%, respectively.

Prof. Ahmed Murad indicated that the eighth session was marked by the winning of six student projects in the fields of water resources, renewable energy, health, technology and transportation, which represents 50% of the winning projects. This round of the award is also characterized by the fact that the winning projects are closely related to sustainability in various fields. 

The water sources projects focused on water treatment and desalination, as well as water resources management in the country. The renewable energy projects targeted the production of hydrogen or green energy and solar energy, as well as the use of date waste in the production of useful products, in addition to the use of artificial intelligence in transportation such as development of road network maintenance systems in the United Arab Emirates and also in improving oil production processes and in the field of smart education.

The United Arab Emirates University effectively supports the culture of innovation and promotes an environment that is suitable for innovation through qualitative initiatives. The "Chancellor’s Innovation Award" is one of the main initiatives that contributes to building a pioneering innovation system at the university. The award was established in 2016 in response to the National Innovation Strategy.

In this round of the award, the student Aisha Alem, supervised by Dr. Alec Newman, won the Water Resources Award, Aisha Abdullah Al-Esayi, Sarah Abdullah Al-Esayi and Eliasya Abdullah Al-Esayi won the Health Award. Sabrah Haris, supervised by Prof. Ali Al Marzouqi, won the renewable energy award. Mohammed Zychan Akhtar, supervised by Faraj Khalifa, won the technology award. Babitha Elizabeth Philip, supervised by Dr. Hamad Al Jasmi, won the transportation award. Rawda Al Kaabi, Moza Al Neyadi, Alia Al Ketbi, and Abdullah Al Salmani, supervised by Dr. Hassan Al Ali, won the education award. 

In the category of faculty members, Prof. Sayed Marzouk won the award in the field of technology, Labib Ali, Mohammed Shafi and Dr. Mohammed Nour Al Tarawneh won the Renewable Energy Award, Dr. Ali Ismail won the Education Award, Prof. Ali Al Marzouki, Amira Mohammad and Aya Abdul Hamid Murad won the Water Resources Award, Muthanna Ahmed and Dr. Walid Khalil Ahmed won the Technology Award, and Issa George, Fatima Al Kaabi and Sarah Al Kaabi won the Renewable Energy Award.