As the collaboration between the Skolkovo Institute of Science and Technology and the University of Sharjah keeps expanding, a high-ranking delegation from the renowned university in the United Arab Emirates paid a momentous visit to the Institute. The visit coincided with the Russian presidency at the 16th annual BRICS summit, which is the first to feature the United Arab Emirates as a member state. The University of Sharjah, which ranked at No. 1 in the UAE according to Times Higher Education in 2023, is a key academic partner of Skoltech.

Led by UoS Chancellor Prof. Hamid M.K. Al-Naimiy, the delegation included Vice Chancellor for Research and Graduate Studies Prof. Maamar Bettayeb and Prof. Rifat Hamoudi — the co-director of the joint Skoltech-UoS Biomedically Informed Artificial Intelligence Laboratory. The premises of the lab located at Sharjah were officially inaugurated by the heads of the two universities during Skoltech President Alexander Kuleshov’s visit to Sharjah in January. The return visit of the UoS leaders to Skoltech last Saturday was welcomed by President Alexander Kuleshov, Vice Presidents Grigory Kabatiansky and Lawrence Stein, along with directors of the centers and heads of laboratories.

The Emirati delegation embarked on a tour of four Skoltech centers of research, education, and innovation, as well as the Institute’s shared research facilities and the joint Skoltech-UoS BIMAI Lab. This part of the visit introduced the guests to Skoltech’s top-notch core facilities and the research equipment at the Materials, Agro, Energy, and Neuro centers.

At the Applied AI center, the visitors were greeted by BIMAI Lab Co-Director Maxim Sharaev, who recounted the lab’s history and showcased its equipment, ongoing projects and spoke about the plans for the future, citing proposed research, joint patents, sharing ideas for commercialization and startups, as well as international collaboration, including in the United Arab Emirates, China, Japan, France, and the United States. The UoS delegation had a brief interaction with the lab’s engineers and researchers, including master’s and doctoral students, who gave more details about the work they are currently involved in, which spans computer visualization, neurology, psychiatry, oncology, and more.

The second part of the visit began with a speech by Skoltech President Alexander Kuleshov, who briefly spoke about the history of Skoltech, its goals, and achievements. Next, Associate Professor Ekaterina Khrameeva from the Bio Center focused more narrowly on the life sciences research at Skoltech. Vice President for Entrepreneurship and Innovation Lawrence Stein highlighted the two universities’ collaboration in the context of Skoltech’s innovation-oriented activity, and Associate Professor Tatiana Podladchikova — the head of the Engineering Center — introduced the guests to space weather studies conducted at the Institute. Her talk was especially welcomed by Professor Hamid Al-Naimiy, who is the founder and the head of the Arab Union for Astronomy and Space Sciences.

The heads of both universities expressed their satisfaction with the visit, citing the importance of in-person encounters and opportunities for the leadership to see with their own eyes what is going on the other side of the partnership and determine the prospects for productive further cooperation.