What King Charles III heard during Dubai university visit

Dubai: His Majesty King Charles III on Thursday visited Heriot-Watt University Dubai’s campus in Dubai Knowledge Park. He was joined by Scotland’s First Minister, Humza Yousaf.

Speaking on the occasion, Richard Williams, Principal and Vice-Chancellor of Heriot-Watt University said: “We are deeply honoured by the visit of His Majesty King Charles III to our campus in Dubai.

“Heriot-Watt was the first British university to open a campus in Dubai back in 2005 and since then, we have grown to become the largest international university in the UAE.

“When our University was founded more than 200 years ago, it set out a clear purpose to benefit society by making education accessible, inclusive and industry-focused – helping our students and academics to have a positive impact on the world.

“We are committed to taking a global lead on sustainability and, as the UAE hosts COP28, we will be showcasing some of our deep expertise in areas including industrial decarbonisation, energy transition and sustainable logistics.

“Universities play a vital role in advancing knowledge and solutions around climate change, and we are proud to be hosting a dynamic Climate Hub here at Heriot-Watt University Dubai, to help move conversations into action.”

The King also heard outcomes from a roundtable on climate action through partnership and met with the academic leaders and students from commonwealth universities.

Youth engagement is a key theme of the Climate Hub, and several students are participating as volunteers, and actively assisting cleantech exhibitors.

Visit to Heriot-Watt University’s Climate Hub

The King, accompanied by Foreign Secretary Lord David Cameron, visited Heriot-Watt Climate Hub and met with several British companies who were part of the Cleantech exhibition and displaying innovative solutions to the threat posed by the climate crisis.

Set up at the Dubai campus to run alongside COP28 which is being hosted by the UAE, the Climate Hub embodies Heriot-Watt’s ambition to take a distinctive lead in defining the route to global sustainability. The university is utilising its convening power in collaboration with event partners to host a schedule of daily events that will mirror and complement the themes of COP28.

Speaking on the occasion, Deputy Vice Principal Professor Tadhg O’Donovan said: “Building flourishing communities, through our positive influence and impact as a university, is one of our key values at Heriot-Watt – and our Climate Hub embodies this in its role as an interactive space for collaboration, innovation and discovery.

"We recognise that higher education institutions have a role in society beyond just the curriculum they teach, and we greatly look forward to bringing people together to discuss the climate crisis, find real solutions and drive positive action for a more sustainable future.”

The Cleantech exhibition at Heriot-Watt Climate Hub is partly funded by the UK government and will give exhibiting companies a chance to meet policymakers, potential investors, and industry leaders who are visiting the UAE for COP28.

Exhibits include the world's first self-assembled, flat-packed solar thermal collector from Heriot-Watt spinout company, SolarisKit. The system reduces carbon emissions by converting solar energy into affordable hot water. Other exhibits include Smartrawl, a robotic underwater sorting device that uses artificial intelligence to help fishing trawlers avoid wasteful fish discards and bycatch.

A separate Research Showcase at the Climate Hub displays selected outputs from Heriot-Watt’s Global Research Institutes (GRIs) and looks at their impact. The GRIs are centres of excellence and collaboration, created to address global challenges by leveraging our global reach, our significant international collaborations and our long-standing connectivity to business and industry.

Finally, a Future Skills Showcase at the Climate Hub will include initiatives that Heriot-Watt is leading to shape the graduates of the future. These include a carbon literacy training programme to enable participants to make more sustainable decisions, and the Empower programme, which teaches purpose-driven leadership.

About Heriot-Watt Climate Hub

Heriot-Watt University Dubai is transforming the 5th and 6th floors of its campus in Dubai Knowledge Park into Climate Hub for the duration of COP28, the 2023 United Nations Climate Change Conference.

The initiative will showcase the Scottish University’s deep expertise in sustainability research, with specialisms in areas including industrial decarbonisation, energy transition, sustainable logistics, sustainable building design and plastics in the environment.

Heriot-Watt’s Dubai campus is 20 minutes away from Expo City Dubai, which will host the main COP28 programme from 30 November 2023 to 12 December 2023.

Journalists attending COP28 are being invited to base themselves at the Climate Hub, which is hosting a programme of events and media facilities including a recording studio.