HH Sheikh Theyab Bin Mohamed Bin Zayed Witnesses Khalifa University’s Class of 2019 Graduation Ceremony

Under the patronage of His Highness Sheikh Mohamed Bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi and Deputy Supreme Commander of the UAE Armed Forces, H.H. Sheikh Theyab Bin Mohamed Bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Member of Abu Dhabi Executive Council and Chairman of Abu Dhabi Crown Prince Court, today attended the graduation ceremony of Khalifa University of Science and Technology’s Class of 2019, which included 408 bachelor’s, Master’s and PhD students. In addition, four graduates from Fall 2018 semester also received their degrees during the ceremony.

The ceremony at Emirates Palace in Abu Dhabi was also attended by His Excellency Eng. Hussain bin Ibrahim Al Hammadi, UAE Minister of Education and Vice-Chairman of the Khalifa University Board of Trustees, and His Excellency Dr. Sultan Ahmed Al Jaber, Minister of State, Group Chief Executive Officer, Abu Dhabi National Oil Company (ADNOC) and Chairman, Masdar.

Other members of Khalifa University Board of Trustees present at the ceremony included His Excellency Ali Rashid Qanas Al Ketbi, Chairman of the Department of Government Support, HE Abdulmunim Al Kindy, Director, Exploration, Development and Production Directorate, ADNOC, and HE Abdulaziz Abdulla Alhajri, Director, Refining and Petrochemicals Directorate, ADNOC.

In addition, HE Saif Mohamed Alhajeri, Chairman of the Department of Economic Development and Member of Abu Dhabi Executive Council, H.E. Falah Mohammad Al Ahbabi, Chairman of the Department of Urban Planning and Municipalities, and H.E. Eng. Awaidha Murshed Al Marar, Chairman of the Department of Energy and Member of the Executive Council, were present at the ceremony. Members of the University’s faculty and staff, the graduates and members of their families also attended the event.

The ceremony celebrated graduation of a total of 408 students, 20 of which were PhD students, 87 Master’s and 301 Bachelors of Science, Engineering and Art programs.

During the ceremony, H.H. Sheikh Theyab conferred the degrees, congratulating the students on their graduation and wishing them success for the future.

His Highness Shaikh Theyab bin Mohamed stressed that the wise directives of His Highness Sheikh Khalifa bin Zayed Al Nahyan, President of the UAE, and the support of His Highness Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, have helped Khalifa University achieve prestigious ranking both regionally and internationally through its distinguished academic programs and advanced research projects. He also pointed out that efforts towards achieving future milestones would further cement the University’s position among the top institutions in the world.

In his speech, Dr. Arif Sultan Al Hammadi, Executive Vice President, Khalifa University, expressed his gratitude to His Highness Sheikh Khalifa Bin Zayed Al Nahyan for his wise and visionary leadership, and His Highness Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan for his role in ushering in a transformative leap not only in Khalifa University but also in the country’s academic and research sectors in general.

Dr. Arif Sultan Al Hammadi said: “Khalifa University today has achieved significant milestones including 126 issued patents, with 343 pending patent applications and more than 400 invention disclosures. Such a remarkable intellectual capital output in scientific fields reflects not only the steady progress the university has made in the recent years, but also the commitment of our faculty and students in obtaining new solutions in key technology sectors that are vital to the UAE’s economic transformation.”

Dr. Al Hammadi added: “As we move up in our contributions to the IP ecosystem, we are also exploring and widening the scope of our international collaborations, especially in Asia and Europe. Researchers at Khalifa University have published about 70% of the total papers in the most important 25% of scientific journals internationally. This in return has contributed to the leading status of Khalifa University as top in the UAE, while being included in the prestigious Shanghai-based Academic Ranking of World Universities (ARWU).

He concluded: “I offer my congratulations to the cohort of Class of 2019 graduates. With their newly acquired knowledge and expertise, I believe they will play a truly critical role, contributing to the economic progress of the UAE, as well as in regions across the world.”

H.H. Sheikh Theyab also presented the Khalifa University’s first-ever honorary PhD degree to Hazza Al Mansouri, the first Arab and Emirati astronaut to visit the International Space Station. Khalifa University has consistently contributed to the aerospace sector, especially by graduating the first-ever batch of students in Aerospace Engineering. Khalifa University students have also designed and developed CubeSat-1 which was launched into space in February 2019, while the launch of CubeSat-2 is scheduled for the near future.

During the ceremony, Amna Ahli,  Biomedical Engineering graduate, and a current student of the Khalifa University College of Medicine and Health Sciences, offered the graduate address.

The second cohort of 2019 graduates included 149 male students, and 259 females. The number of UAE Nationals totaled 316, while international students numbered 92.

Khalifa University ranked first in the UAE, second in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region and within the top 200 globally in the most recent Times Higher Education (THE) World University Rankings 2020 by Subject: Engineering and Technology, which covered more than 1,000 Universities from 70 countries. The University is also ranked first in the fields of ‘research’ and ‘industry income’ – strong indications of its research status. Moreover, the university is ranked 28th among Asian universities in the THE Asia Universities ranking, while remaining among the top 31% of the 1011 global institutions assessed by the 2019 Quacquarelli Symonds (QS) World University Rankings.