Under the patronage of His Highness Sheikh Dr. Sultan bin Muhammad Al Qasimi, Member of the Supreme Council, Ruler of Sharjah and President of the University, and coinciding with the UAE Innovation Month, the University of Sharjah concluded the activities of the 5th International Forum on Innovation and Entrepreneurship, which is organized by the College of Business Administration and College of Computing and Informatics at the University of Sharjah in cooperation with the Sharjah Chamber of Commerce and Industry. The forum is an ideal platform to instill a culture of innovation in the minds of students as a way of life and professional success, and a beacon that nurtures their creative ideas and helps them to distinguish and creativity before engaging in the labor market and face its challenges.

About 129 projects from many schools in the Emirate of Sharjah and universities in the country were selected for the award in the current session. 8 projects were selected that varied between scientific research and innovative application projects that address the ideas and advanced topics of the award: applications of artificial intelligence in the service of man, and the creation of smart glasses that use electrical energy to work with the human thinking process, smart applications to help people of disabilities, creating softwares for electronic games, using solar energy, and generating electrical energy from biodegradable materials.

On this occasion, His Excellency Prof. Hamid M.K. Al Naimiy, Chancellor of the University of Sharjah, during a speech delivered the highest meanings of thanks and appreciation to His Highness Sheikh Dr. Sultan bin Muhammad Al Qasimi, Supreme Council Member and Ruler of Sharjah and President of the University, for sponsoring this Forum and all that it encourages of creativity and innovation for the young generations of this country. The matter that he said was supported and sponsored by the many institutions and bodies that His Highness directed to establish, among which are the emerging centers scattered in various regions and cities of Sharjah. They were also given the care and good guidance of Her Highness Sheikha Jawaher bint Muhammad Al Qasimi, wife of His Highness the Ruler of Sharjah and Chairperson of the Supreme Council for Family Affairs.

He added that it is under the guidance of His Highness that the University of Sharjah is keen to achieve the goals it aspires of building generations that are distinguished by their knowledge, thought and creativity and that meet the requirements and components of building civilizations. This is not only the largest goal His Highness seeks, it also represents the work of creating the human being who is able to keep pace with modern and civilized progress at the global level that the Emirate of Sharjah in particular and the UAE in general reached.

He concluded his speech by thanking the Council of Sharjah Chamber of Commerce and Industry and all members of the Council for cooperating with the University of Sharjah in achieving the prospects and aspirations of this Forum in its current and previous five sessions, which achieved many of the desired national goals for the University of Sharjah and the Chamber and the Emirate of Sharjah. He also thanked all employees in the College of Business Administration and College of Computing and Informatics, and everyone who organized this successful Forum.

In the same context, His Excellency Abdullah Al Owais, Chairman of the Sharjah Chamber of Commerce and Industry, delivered a speech during which he explained the beginning of the launch of the "Sharjah Chamber Award for Creators" in a strategic partnership with the University of Sharjah, which he said was launched as a inspiration from the visions and directives of His Highness Sheikh Dr. Sultan bin Muhammad Al Qasimi, Member of the Supreme Council and Ruler of Sharjah, on the importance of providing support and a suitable space for creative youth in order to encourage them to implement their innovative projects as pioneers who will build the future. This in order to enable them to unleash their creative energies by providing the necessary facilities and capabilities whether material or moral to implement their entrepreneurial projects and consolidate the culture of innovation as an essential pillar in the process of sustainable development of society and achieving its development.

He added that for four years, they have been keen to stimulate creative and innovative ideas among male and female students of universities and academic institutions in the Emirate of Sharjah. This to emphasize the responsibility of the community and to embody a confident view of the future, because investing in this approach is a successful investment and that creative thinking should be a method of a pioneer who touches all aspects of life in society. He noted that the award in its fifth session acquires a new look for the purpose of motivating students to unleash their creative ideas in various fields and to affirm that they spare no effort in supporting creators and innovators.

He continued adding they worked this year to double the value of the award from 50 thousand dirhams to 100 thousand dirhams, and introducing a new category for scientific and academic research, in addition to that, the scope of the award has become more comprehensive because its categories have become open to all creators from various UAE universities and also school students in the twelfth grade in the Emirate of Sharjah.

For his part, Prof. Mohamed Obaidat, Dean of the College of Computing and Informatics, welcomed the attendees and introduced them to the College of Computing and Informatics aiming to keep pace with technological progress, and seeking to introduce modern and advanced programs to serve the national agenda of the United Arab Emirates, especially in the fourth and fifth industrial revolution categories to access the Digital Knowledge Economy. He indicated that the College of Computing and Informatics managed in a short period of time to organize many scientific events and forums in addition to student activities. This year, he continued, they added technical topics to the Forum including cybersecurity, artificial intelligence, big data and innovative student research, in addition to establishing a new path for the award in scientific research as the most important achievements of this course.

Prof. Philip Molyneux, Dean of the College of Business Administration, commended the efforts of the Forum's organizing committee and thanked the Sharjah Chamber of Commerce and Industry for its partnership in the success of the Fifth International Forum on Innovation and Entrepreneurship, which includes the Sharjah Chamber Award for creators for the fourth year in a row. He also commended the great efforts of the judges and mentors, who contributed significantly to the development of student projects.

The Forum hosted experts and specialists with scientific, practical and global skills in interactive dialogue sessions and scientific workshops, where Eng. Fathi Afaneh, CEO of Fast Building and Construction Company, shared his personal experience in entrepreneurship, then spoke about the impact of entrepreneurship on economic growth in the country. Dr. Amal Al Ali, Chair of the Fifth International Forum for Innovation and Entrepreneurship, moderated the round table session that discussed the importance of the role of innovation and entrepreneurship in consolidating the comprehensive national culture, learning about the most important innovative practices, and discussing the visions of the future that benefit the community and contribute to the development of national talents and capabilities in the field of innovation.

The session was attended by Eng. Dr. Souad Al Shamsi, the first aviation engineer in the United Arab Emirates, along with Mr. Saad Al-Rubaian, General Manager of Celka for Corporate Social Responsibility, and Dr. Mohammed Latayfeh, Assistant Professor in Computer Science.

The ceremony concluded with announcing the winning projects in the Sharjah Chamber Award for creators and honoring them. First in the research category, student Maryam Ahmed from the University of Sharjah won the first place; the students Marah Abdelhaq and Massa Khabbaz from the American Terem Private School won the second place; the student Labib Ali and Elias Mahmoud from The United Arab Emirates University ranked third; and students Rokaya Abdullah, Ola Al-Saeedi and Aisha Al-Suwaidi from the University of Sharjah ranked fourth. Secondly, the category of innovative projects, student Muhammad Yassin Hafeez from the Al-Amanah School won the first position; students Heba Qatina, Samar Al-Hattab, Israa Qasim, Dana Khalouf from the University of Sharjah ranked in the second place; the student Ashai Bhiv from the Amity University in Dubai ranked in third, and student Fatima Al Shamsi from the Fatima College of Health Sciences in Abu Dhabi ranked fourth.

The Forum was attended by Vice Chancellors of the University; College Deans; the Award Jury Committee; His Excellency Mohamed Ahmed Amin, Director General of the Sharjah Chamber of Commerce and Industry; members of the Chamber's Board of Directors; members of the University's faculty and administrative bodies, as well as a large group of students.