The country’s first university was set up 44 years ago and the nation now boasts of 120 institutions of further learning, providing a range of graduate and undergraduate degrees. Every year, 160,000 new students enter universities in the country, but the academic leaders said there is need for greater focus on graduate education and the research it promotes.

Dr Al Hammadi explained that a place on international university rankings is one of the best ways to attract talent into the UAE’s universities and subsequently its economy. “The QS World University rankings now include eight UAE universities on the list and to even feature on these rankings, a university must have a research component. This shows that UAE universities are maturing,” he said. The Khalifa University that he heads is itself featured among the QS top 200 universities at present.

Dr Mariet Westermann, vice-chancellor and chief executive of New York University Abu Dhabi (NYUAD), also suggested the creation of a digital system that records each student and researcher’s verified education history, explaining that it would make application processes faster and easier. “In addition, while the UAE has many fields for applied research development — space science, culture heritage protection, smart cities, energy security [and many others] — I don’t believe it should limit its focus. In fact, it should also explore theoretical fields like quantum computing because there is much to discover and innovate,” she said.

Along with other leaders on the panel, Dr Al Hammadi and Dr Westermann also called for policies that would attract more international students to the UAE for further education.

“A number of universities already attract students from abroad, making the UAE an exporter of education. The advantage is that these students often stay back to contribute to the economy,” Dr Westermann explained.