How Sharjah’s new university partnership will drive tourism, opportunities in the UAE

Sharjah: The Sharjah Commerce and Tourism Development Authority (SCTDA) and the American University of Sharjah (AUS) have joined forces to boost tourism innovation while giving students real-world experience in the UAE’s growing tourism sector.

The partnership has been formalised on April 8 with the signing of a memorandum of understanding by Khalid Jasim Al Midfa, chairman of the SCTDA, and Tod Laursen, chancellor of the AUS. The ceremony has taken place at the House of Wisdom in Sharjah.

On the sidelines of the ceremony, Al Midfa has shared with Gulf News that the new collaboration has followed last year’s successful Sharjah Tourism Innovation Hackathon which coincided with Sharjah International Travel and Tourism Forum. These events have showcased the authority’s commitment to advancing Sharjah’s position as a forward-thinking tourism hub.

“It was a great platform to have students’ ideas displayed in front of all the relevant people and experts from all around the world. We saw that many of these ideas have a high potential to be implemented over the coming years and they will definitely get a chance to cater to people’s needs in the tourism industry,” said Al Midfa.

He has noted that the tourism industry is one of the vital sectors worldwide including here in the UAE.

“In Sharjah, it represents around 10 percent of the GDP which is very high. The projects we are witnessing as developments in Sharjah are really good. It gives more opportunities and create a bigger need to have such collaboration. The ideas coming from students of this generation will cater to them and to the future generation.”

Al Midfa has also highlighted key projects in Sharjah such as the East Coast with seaside towns like Khorfakkan and Kalba; the Central Region with archaeological sites at Mleiha, mighty sand dunes like Big Red at Al Badayer, and farming towns like Al Dhaid; and the new products that have been added to the emirate’s portfolio.

In a separate exclusive interview, Laursen told Gulf News that the collaboration focuses on preparing students for the real economy.

“From a university perspective, it’s to give the students raw world experience that’s relevant to the economy around us. There are some things that have been incorporated into some of our classes that bring tourism and commerce related issues to the classroom and give students the opportunity to work on them,” explained Laursen.

While there are no new programmes, existing tracks such as marketing, design, and media studies complement the newly signed partnership.

“We’ve had good success so far in pulling in students from these different programmes, sometimes forming them into teams that work on challenges that the authority brings to us. This could be something that grows and there may be new opportunities that come out of this for sure.”

When asked about his take on the use of artificial intelligence and online information, Laursen has bared that he tends to be “optimistic” on these matters.

“It changes the way in which the work will be done. We want to make sure that our students have the advantage over other students in the market and that they’re familiar with these tools and know how to use them.”

The recent move is expected to promote research, knowledge exchange, and innovative solutions to strengthen tourism in Sharjah and across the UAE. Both leaders have stressed that combining academic expertise with industry insight will empower students while positioning Sharjah as a regional hub for tourism innovation and future-ready talent development.

Additionally, it has shed light on Sharjah’s ongoing focus on building new opportunities through strategic collaborations between public institutions and academia.