Professor Tod Laursen, Khalifa University President and Professor Salim Al-Hassani, Chairman of FSTC
Khalifa University (KU) and the Foundation for Science, Technology and Civilisation (FSTC), recently signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) at the Khalifa University campus in Abu Dhabi. This MoU aims to promote greater recognition and appreciation of Muslim inventions and their contributions to modern civilisation in today’s fast-paced world.
As part of the MoU, the first project to be introduced in Abu Dhabi will be the expansion of the Khalifa University Discovery Center by introducing the Muslim Heritage Science & Engineering Interactive exhibition which is based on the ‘1001 Inventions’ which was developed by FSTC.
This new exhibit will showcase the scientific achievements of Muslim civilisation from the 7th century to the present day. It will also highlight the cooperative efforts of people from different backgrounds and ethnic groups. FSTC, a British based non-profit, non-religious, academic organization, produced the hugely successful ‘1001 Inventions’ exhibition which has attracted more than one million visitors across Europe and the USA. Working with the world’s leading academics, FSTC aims to engage with the public through educational media and interactive global exhibitions, in order to highlight the shared cultural and technological inheritance of humanity.
This MoU lays the foundation for future partnerships to collaborate in identifying and developing research and academic cooperation opportunities. Based on this MoU, the new Khalifa University Campus in Abu Dhabi will reflect elements of Muslim Science and Heritage in its design, thereby enhancing the academic experience of its students.
Commenting at the signing, Dr. Tod A. Laursen, President of Khalifa University, stated: "In academic research, we must look to the past for inspiration. Khalifa University is proud to enter into this MoU with the FSTC because we understand the importance of acknowledging the contribution of all inventors to modern society. This new initiative will further help us in our mission to educate and train well rounded professionals for the future. For our students, this high-tech interactive experience will be highly beneficial to their studies and will complement our already world class offerings at Khalifa University.”
He added, “The opportunity to host this exhibition at our Discovery Centre is an honour, as it is of utmost importance to inspire and motivate the younger generations by highlighting the important contributions of Muslims to modern civilisation. This exhibition will also place great emphasis on the future innovations which are coming out of Abu Dhabi and indeed the UAE.”
Professor Salim TS Al-Hassani, Chairman of FSTC, expressed his delight and enthusiasm at working with KU, saying: “Our organisation, which includes dozens of the world’s leading historians of science, has been working for decades to bring the truth about Muslim Heritage in science and technology to as wide an audience as possible. We’ve made a huge impact in the USA and Europe and enlightened millions of people but there is much more to be done. Working with an internationally renowned institution of academic excellence like Khalifa University, is an extraordinary opportunity for us to inspire the leaders of tomorrow by revealing to them, the important role that male and female scholars from the Muslim world have had on the modern age.”
