News of the Arab Region:
UAEU Conference Explores AI’s Impact on Innovation
The United Arab Emirates University (UAEU) hosted an International Conference on Creativity and Innovation this month, bringing together experts from around the world for two days of talks on the future of innovation and intellectual property amid rapid advancements in artificial intelligence.
According to the Emirates News Agency (WAM), the conference underscored the Emirates’ commitment to fostering innovation and strengthening its position as a hub for intellectual property and creative industries. Keynote speakers included Joshua Sarnoff, a law professor at DePaul University, in the United States, who spoke Saturday on “Artificial Intelligence, Intellectual Property, Ethical Uses, and Benefit-Cost Considerations”, and Christopher L. Tucci, a professor of digital strategy and innovation of Imperial College London, who spoke Sunday on “Surviving AI Disruption”.
Numerous other distinguished scholars and experts spoke in panel sessions that addressed topics like cross-border experiences in using AI for trademark and patent examination, and strategies for marketing university innovations and assessing the value of research knowledge. View the conferences full agenda here.
Officials from the United Arab Emirates University inspect participants in the university’s International Conference on Creativity and Innovation (WAM).4 Egyptian Universities Reach THE’s Top 100 for Interdisciplinary Science
Thirty-six Egyptian universities are included in the Times Higher Education Interdisciplinary Science Rankings 2026, up from 27 last year, and four of them made it into the list’s top 100, Egypt’s Ministry of Higher Education and Scientific Research has reported.
The minister of higher education, Ayman Ashour, commended the progress made by Egyptian universities in the 2026 rankings, saying interdisciplinarity and cross-disciplinary programmes are a key pillar of the national strategy for higher education.
Times Higher Education (THE), a British higher-education news and data company known for its annual World University Rankings, collaborated with Schmidt Science Fellows, a programme funded by the former Google chief executive Eric Schmidt and his wife, Wendy Schmidt, to create the new interdisciplinarity ranking, first published last year. This year’s edition ranks 911 universities from 94 countries, THE said in a news release.
In a white paper published with the ranking’s release, THE and Schmidt Science Fellows said the results show “a clear upward trajectory in interdisciplinarity worldwide”, with notable improvements in rapidly transforming systems such as India, Egypt, Saudi Arabia, and Pakistan.
MESA Condemns Canada for Detaining Richard Falk ahead of Forum on Palestine
The Middle East Studies Association of North America (MESA) has condemned Canadian authorities for detaining and interrogating the 95-year-old scholar and human-rights advocate Richard Falk upon his arrival at Toronto’s Pearson International Airport on 13 November.
According to Canada’s publicly owned CBC News, Falk and his wife, Professor Hilal Elver, were en route to Ottawa to participate in an event called the “Palestine Tribunal on Canadian Responsibility” when border agents stopped them for additional scrutiny and questioned them for nearly four hours.
In a letter to Prime Minister Mark Carney and other Canadian officials, MESA described the detention of Falk and Elver as “unwarranted and unjustified harassment” designed to intimidate participants in the Ottawa event and to delegitimise testimonies on what MESA called the “complicity” of Canada and the United States in the suffering of Palestinians.
MESA called on the Canadian government to apologise to Falk and Elver, to reflect on its role in contributing to Palestinian suffering, and to categorically defend Palestinian rights. It also urged the government to uphold free expression and debate about contested issues.
Richard Falk is an emeritus professor of international law at Princeton University and a former United Nations special rapporteur on the situation of human rights in the Palestinian territories. Hilal Elver is a Turkish-American legal scholar and a former U.N. special rapporteur on the right to food.
The unnamed organisers of the event Falk and Elver wanted to attend in Ottawa have said they wanted to document how Canadian government bodies, corporations, universities, and other institutions “have enabled and continue to enable the settler colonization and genocide of Palestinians, and to articulate what justice and reparations would require”.
Princess Nourah U. to Host Saudi Francophone Forum
Saudi Arabia’s Princess Nourah bint Abdulrahman University will host a Saudi Francophone Forum on 1 December, highlighting the French language’s presence in the kingdom and its role as a bridge for communication between Saudi Arabia and French-speaking countries.
In a news release, the university said the forum will shed light on linguistic diversity in Saudi universities and how talented, French-speaking Saudi citizens contribute to presenting the kingdom’s image to the world. It will also explore the opportunities offered by the French language in tourism, culture, and luxury industries.
This event is the first of its kind among Saudi universities, bringing together academics, students, and enthusiasts of French language and culture for a day that celebrates dialogue, diversity, and cultural exchange between the Arab and Francophone worlds.
South Korean President Visits Cairo U.
Cairo University welcomed South Korean President Lee Jae-Myung during his first official visit to Egypt since taking office in June 2025. During the visit, President Lee delivered a speech outlining South Korea’s initiatives in the Middle East.
In a statement, the university said the visit reaffirmed both countries’ commitment to strengthening cooperation in higher education and scientific research, expanding opportunities for sustainable development and supporting future generations.
President Lee highlighted the comprehensive partnership between Egypt and South Korea, strengthened through reciprocal visits and robust trade ties. He said he hoped to raise cooperation to new levels in fields like hydrogen, energy, construction, innovation, artificial intelligence, and education.
South Korean President Lee Jae-myung delivering a speech at Cairo University (the University).QatarDebate, Doha Forum to Explore Youth’s Role in Global Progress
QatarDebate Centre will host Doha Forum: Youth Edition 2025 at Education City on 3-4 December, bringing together over 150 young changemakers from over 100 countries, including 40 participants from Qatar, to explore how youth can contribute to tangible global progress.
The event is jointly organised by QatarDebate and the Doha Forum, with support from the Ministry of Sports and Youth and Media City Qatar. It reflects a deep commitment to engaging young people in global conversations and future policymaking. The theme of this year’s event is “Justice in Action: Beyond Promises to Progress”.
Abu Dhabi Festival Abroad Holds Major Events in U.S.
Continuing its mission to promote intercultural dialogue, the Abu Dhabi Festival Abroad programme presented a series of concerts and events in the United States this month.
Highlights of the tour included the U.S. debut of composer Faraj Abyad’s new album “The Sun of My Existence”, performed at the Peter Jay Sharp Theatre at Symphony Space in New York, and a performance at Carnegie Hall involving the Emirati cellist Elham Al-Marzooqi. She took part in a programme called “A Journey to the New World”, presented by Spain’s Reina Sofía School Orchestra and members of the Colombian Youth Philharmonic, led by conductor Andres Orozco-Estrada.
Other events included two Art @ Embassies panel discussions, hosted in collaboration with the United Arab Emirates Embassy in Washington and the U.A.E. Mission to the United Nations.
In a news release, Huda Alkhamis-Kanoo, founder and artistic director of the Abu Dhabi Festival, said the festival’s international partnerships with leading cultural institutions reflect a long-standing commitment to creative collaboration and to showcasing Emirati talent on global stages.
Arab Reform Initiative Opens Applications for Interns
Arab Reform Initiative (ARI) is now accepting applications for its 2026 internship programme, offering recent graduates and early-career researchers the chance to gain hands-on experience and mentorship in policy, research, and communications.
According to ARI, interns participate in activities like conducting research, supporting events, creating digital content, and representing the organisation at regional and global events. Previous interns have gone on to join ministries, international think tanks, and human-rights organisations.
See the 2026 Call for Interns for more information on the types of internships ARI is seeking to fill, the general qualifications required, and instructions on how to apply. Applications are due by 8 December.
Events and Conferences:
12th World Innovation Summit for Education (WISE), 24–25 November 2025, Qatar. The summit, organised by Qatar Foundation, will take place under the theme “Humanity.io: Human Values at the Heart of Education”. It will bring together global education leaders, experts, and changemakers to explore how innovation and technology can serve humanity while keeping education adaptable, inclusive, and rooted in empathy and human dignity. Registration is open at wise-qatar.org/wise-12.
2025 IAP Triennial Conference, 8-10 December 2025, Cairo. More than 120 international scientific societies will be represented at this conference, hosted by Egypt’s Academy of Scientific Research and Technology (ASRT) at the St. Regis Hotel in the New Administrative Capital. Some 210 scientists and experts are expected to participate, along with 50 distinguished international speakers. To register, click here.
UNIMED Week in Brussels, 27-29 January 2026. UNIMED–Mediterranean Universities Union will hold the 10th edition of UNIMED Week in Brussels, an annual dialogue on relations between European institutions and the Mediterranean region, in January. The programme for 2026 will include discussions on deepening engagement with initiatives like Erasmus+ and Horizon Europe. Discussions will also spotlight the Pact of the Mediterranean, which seeks to build a more integrated higher education space, advance skills development, and support the launch of a new Mediterranean platform for higher education. For more information, please write to [email protected].
Egyptian Knowledge Bank Workshops. Free online workshops are now available for undergraduate students, researchers, and faculty members. View the schedule here.
WISE, IIE Release First Insights from Consortium on AI and Higher Ed
The World Innovation Summit for Education (WISE), an initiative of Qatar Foundation, and the Institute of International Education (IIE), based in the United States, have released the first batch of findings from a consortium they established two years ago to study the use of artificial intelligence in higher education. The findings, in a report called “Navigating Skills Adaptation: Integrating AI in Higher Education”, offer a global perspective on how colleges and universities are using artificial intelligence to create new skills, teaching practices, and paths to employment.
Qatar Foundation’s. co-founder and chair Moza bint Nasser opened the summit in Doha on Monday with a call for human values to be at the heart of education.Opinion:
The Noblest Journey: Rana Dajani Reflects on Life in Teaching
Today, innovation in learning is needed more than ever, writes Rana Dajani on her long career in education. The world is questioning traditional methods of education and finding them lacking on many levels, she says, while the internet, the digital revolution, and the advancement of AI have forced us to confront a truth we’ve long known — that we must rethink how we teach and learn. Dajani believes learning must be student-centred and driven by intrinsic motivation. It must also be agile, capable of adapting to any circumstance. Read more of her thoughts here.
Podcast:
‘Experiences in Teaching Media Literacy’
This episode of Al-Fanar Media Podcast focuses on experiences of teaching media literacy to university and pre-university students in the Arab world.
Mohammad El-Hawary, Al-Fanar Media’s editor-in-chief, presents the episode, which takes up topics like Jordan’s experience in teaching media literacy and trying to provide Arab youth with the skills they need to judge the accuracy of information, in light of widespread bias and misinformation online today. You can listen to this episode and others in the series through Al-Fanar Media’s accounts on SoundCloud, Spotify, and YouTube.
Tips and Resources:
Cairo U. Issues Guide on Use of AI in Scientific Research
Cairo University has released a “Guide to the Use of Artificial Intelligence in Scientific Research” that the university says reflects its commitment to the ethical and responsible use of AI, and seeks to ensure technology is used in a way that supports research while preserving its integrity. Balancing innovation with academic integrity, the guidelines are intended to boost knowledge production while strengthening the university’s position as a leading research institution.
Interview:
Lebanon’s ‘Shining Stars of Hope’ Helps Struggling, Forgotten Actors
“Shining Stars of Hope”, an initiative of Lebanon’s Takreem Foundation, helps struggling, forgotten actors and other members of the creative community affected by the country’s economic and financial crises. Al-Fanar Media recently caught up with Ricardo Karam, Takreem’s founder, and asked him about the organisation and the Shining Stars campaign. You can listen to an audio recording of the conversation here, or read highlights of the conversation here. To support elderly artists and help preserve their creative legacy, click here to donate.
Scholarships
Swedish Institute Scholarships for Global Professionals. If you are a postgraduate student from Egypt, Iraq, Jordan, or Morocco, you may be eligible for this comprehensive scholarship offered by the Swedish Institute for Global Professionals. The scholarships supporting outstanding international students in pursuing a full-time master’s degree in Sweden in a subject relevant to sustainable development goals for their country. Explore details of this award and other scholarships available to Arab students on Al-Fanar Media’s scholarship database.