Sharjah Ruler receives honorary doctorate from Turin varsities
turin, italy — The role of His Highness Sheikh Dr Sultan bin Muhammad Al Qasimi, Member of the Supreme Council and Ruler of Sharjah, in the distinctive urban development of Sharjah was lauded in Italy.
Sheikh Sultan received the first joint Honorary Doctorate in Urban and Regional Development from the University of Turin and Polytechnic University of Turin on Friday.
“This is a special day for me. I am very proud of this doctorate as the Polytechnic University is the oldest technical university in Italy and one of the leading European universities in engineering, computer science and technology, as well as the prestigious University of Turin, which offers distinguished scientific programmes. I wish both universities continued success,” Sheikh Sultan said.
He received the honorary doctorate — along with a special medal and a miniature replica of the castle of Valentino — from Professor Guido Saracco, president of the Polytechnic University of Turin.
For decades, Sheikh Sultan has
been committed to integrating architecture with sustainable technology and local culture.
“Urban development is something that I focused and enjoyed working on over the last five decades during which the emirate’s population has grown dramatically. In 1970, the population stood at 28,000, whereas today it stands at
1.4 million. The population grew 50 times during that period and is currently growing at around seven per cent every year.”
“From the beginning, we had three main objectives. First, Sharjah’s cities and regions should have well-planned modern infrastructure that provides the desired level of lifestyle for the growing population. Our second goal was to maintain the design and distinctive characteristics of each city, while the third was to restore and preserve as many historical buildings and heritage sites as possible,” the Sharjah Ruler said.
“Around 25 years ago, we chose the outskirts of Sharjah city as the headquarters for the University City during the peak of population growth. In 1996, we started building the American University of Sharjah and the following year, work began on University of Sharjah, which contributed significantly to meet the demands of the population.
“Since then, University City has become home to many educational institutions, as well as home to 32,000 students from 85 countries, 1,700 faculty members and 2,600 administrative staff offering more than 120 educational programmes in various fields.”
He emphasised the importance of cooperation between leading research institutions, noting that the emirate had launched the ‘Sharjah Research, Technology and Innovation Park’ to facilitate and enhance collaboration between research institutions.