Sheikha Shamma bint Sultan bin Khalifa Al Nahyan, alumna of Robinson College, Cambridge and Founder and CEO of Alliances for Global Sustainability, recently hosted University of Cambridge Vice-Chancellor Professor Stephen J Toope and a delegation in Abu Dhabi.

Sheikha Shamma presided over talks on innovation in education, advanced research, R&D and arts and culture with a Cambridge delegation that included: St Catharine’s College alumnus David Harding, Founder and CEO of Winton Group; Professor Colleen McLaughlin, Faculty of Education; Professor Rosalind Polly Blakesley, History of Art; Fitzwilliam Museum Director Luke Syson and School of Arts and Humanities Head Professor Chris Young, and Dr Mohamed Khater, Head of the Centre for Strategy and Performance.

"Thanks to its wise leadership's vision and support, Abu Dhabi is working to implement different strategies and initiatives to accelerate its sustainable development, through which a knowledge –based economy is being created, by capacity-building programmes and an advanced educational system.

"Abu Dhabi is also concentrating on growing the R&D eco-system to become a global beacon for technology, innovation and talent," said Sheikha Shamma.

"Professor Toope, the Cambridge delegation and distinguished guests explored the challenges that we all face and spoke of how the future might look if we all worked together on solutions," she added.

"The UAE and Cambridge share the goal of pursuing education and research at the highest international levels," noted Sheikha Shamma. "As a proud alumna of Cambridge, I believe deeply in the power of partnership to apply the very best research to solve today’s biggest challenges."

"Collaboration across governments, universities, business and wider society is the key to unlocking a better future for all of us," Toope said. "When tackling the grand challenges of the 21st century, together we must find new ways of seeing, new ways of sharing our ideas, and new ways of meeting some enormous challenges. We must shape our educational systems to address the workforce of the 21st Century."

Professor Toope noted that the University’s relationship with Abu Dhabi was long-established through links with Cambridge Assessment, Cambridge University Press, the Judge Business School, the Cambridge Institute for Sustainability Leadership, CISL, the Institute for Manufacturing, IfM, and the many members of the UAE’s leadership who are also Cambridge alumni.

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