Partnerships focus on range of subjects, from medicine to astronomy AL AIN: The United Arab Emirates University has collaborated with 52 universities, government research institutions and other bodies in Saudi Arabia, according to a report by the Emirates News Agency. International collaboration is one of the university’s strategic priorities as it aims to share best educational and research practices in a way that supports its vision of becoming a research-intensive institution. Ahmed Ali Murad, the UAEU’s associate provost for research, stressed the importance of cooperation and partnerships in enhancing the university’s international reputation. “International collaboration allows us to benefit from the infrastructure available in these institutions in a way that will enhance our research output,” he said. “The UAEU is working to improve its academic and research collaboration with universities and research centers in Saudi Arabia. This collaboration led to the publication of 628 research papers during 2017-22, with a total of 28,903 citations. “This is equivalent to 46 citations for each research project, which confirms the quality of output and contributes to strengthening the university’s global position,” he added. Murad continued: “Moreover, there is a twinning program between UAEU and King Saud University, where researchers from the two universities published 151 research papers during 2017-22, with 20,250 citations. “Also, researchers from the UAE University in collaboration with researchers from Al-Faisal University published approximately 85 research papers during that period, with a total of 19,114 citations.” The collaboration with Saudi universities and educational institutions focused on medicine, engineering, chemistry, computer science, physics and astronomy, he said. On seven projects, UAEU researchers worked with teams from King Saud University, King Abdullah University of Science and Technology and King Abdulaziz University. An externally funded project is being worked on by the UAEU Emirates Center for Mobility Research and Umm Al-Qura University.