Under the patronage of His Excellency Prof. Hamid M.K. Al Naimiy, Chancellor of the University of Sharjah, and in the presence of Prof. Maamar Bettayeb, Vice Chancellor for Research and Graduate Studies, coinciding with the Emirati Women's Day, and to encourage and stimulate women pursuing development in the field of scientific research, the Research Outreach Department and the Technology Transfer Office at the Office of Research and Graduate Studies at the University of Sharjah organized the "The First Women's Research Forum". This Forum aims to present the achievements of women in various fields of scientific research at the University of Sharjah, discuss the challenges they face to enable them more in this field, in addition to presenting the opportunities available to women and presenting recommendations that would assist in their progress and development in the field. All speakers participated in the Forum using remote communication programs.

Prof. Maamar Bettayeb started the Forum with a welcoming speech in which he praised the role of women working at the University of Sharjah in the field of scientific research, and then gave a brief presentation on behalf of His Excellency the Chancellor of the University, in which he shed light on the activities provided by women in the field of scientific research, and the continuous increase in the number of research and the scientific materials published in internationally approved journals. He added that this is evidenced by the development of indicators for the periodic publication of research published by the University of Sharjah as well as the quantity and quality of the research provided by the University in comparison with other universities, and he also talked about the local and global University classification in achieving the sustainable development goals in several fields. He also pointed out the important changes in the University's classification from 2014 until today, as indicators showed an increase in the enrollment of female students and researchers in graduate studies programs in various colleges, in addition to funding research projects in which women participate in the University.

After that, Her Excellency Dr. Amna Al Dahak Al Shamsi, Assistant Undersecretary of the Activities Sector at the Ministry of Education (MoE) - the main spokesperson - gave a presentation entitled "Empowering Women in Scientific Research", in which she presented a group of success stories of Emirati researchers and others from different countries of the world who contributed to the service and development of their societies through scientific research, for which they received many international awards. She also shed light on the empowerment of women in public sector jobs and leadership positions in the government sector in the United Arab Emirates, and the high percentage of female researchers in the Arab countries.

After that, Dr. Amal Al Ali from the College of Computing and Informatics at the University of Sharjah led the discussion session in which Prof. Nadia Mahdi, Dean of the College of Fine Arts and Design at the University, participated along with Dr. Suad Hanawi, Consultant Rheumatologist - Chair of the Rheumatology Committee at the Ministry of Health and Community Protection, and Dr. Amina Al Marzooqi, Acting Dean of the College of Health Sciences at the University, Dr. Lana Al-Shaar, Vice President of the Center of Excellence, Dr. Mira Al-Kaabi, Head of the Department of Cognitive Sciences at the UAE University, and Dr. Kimberly Gleason, Associate Professor at the College of Business Administration at the American University of Sharjah. The discussion session covered several themes including the concept of scientific research, the reasons for choosing their scientific specializations, the extent to which the local community supports and encourages women to continue in the field of research, the challenges that women face in this field and how to overcome them, in addition to the opportunities available, achieving a balance between work and personal life, and the advice that can be provided to those who wish to enter the field Research.

The Forum was organized by the Women's Committee for Scientific Research at the University of Sharjah in coordination with Dr. Manar Abu Talib, Head of the Department of Research Outreach, and Dr. Mohamed Al Hemairy, Head of the Technology Transfer Office.