Global Universities and International Participants Engage with Khalifa University鈥檚 Climate Leadership, Research Excellence, and Global Outreach
Khalifa University of Science and Technology joined with the Global Alliance of Universities for Climate (GAUC) to lead a high-level climate dialogue for the international higher education community at COP30 Brasil Amazonia in Bel茅m, Brazil.
The dialogue featured a standout panel discussion workshop focused on 鈥楬igher Education Institutions for Climate Action: Innovation, Implementation, Cooperation, and Communication鈥�, emphasizing four important components of the critical roles of higher education institutions. It was chaired and moderated by GAUC鈥檚 Chief Youth Officer, Alice Ho, with Deputy Secretary-General of GAUC, Dr. Jian Zhang, as a panel member. Dr. Jian is also Associate Director of the Institute of Climate Change and Sustainable Development at China鈥檚 Tsinghua University.
Representing Khalifa University at this high-level higher education workshop, held at UNFCCC Higher Education for Climate Action Pavilion, was Dr. Samuel Mao, Director, ASPIRE Research Institute for Sustainability, and Professor of Practice, Mechanical and Nuclear Engineering. Dr. Samuel is also Co-Chair of the UAE Universities Climate Network, which consists of 38 higher education institutions of the UAE. After the workshop, Dr. Samuel and Khalifa University鈥檚 two other COP30 delegates, Dr. Aisha Al Suwaidi, Associate Professor, Earth Sciences, and Mohammad Al Hamadi, a graduate student and the first Emirati to complete a polar ocean expedition recently, visited GAUC Pavilion, which also hosted a UAE Universities Climate Network COP30 session, co-organized by Khalifa University.
During the panel discussion, Dr. Samuel used his sustainable water extraction from air project as an example to illustrate Khalifa University鈥檚 leadership in every aspect of innovation, implementation, cooperation, and communication. He also introduced Khalifa University鈥檚 recent engagements with several GAUC member universities, including mutual visits of university leaders and development of collaborative research and education programs. Khalifa University鈥檚 commitment to advancing climate action and global outreach was acknowledged by the audience at COP30.
Other members of the panel were Dr. Stuart Brocklehurst, Deputy Vice-Chancellor for Business Engagement and Innovation, University of Exeter, UK, who is also Director of Green Futures Solutions, and Dr. Caio Fanha, Director of International Office, University Center of Par谩 State in Brazil, who leads global partnerships and Amazon-focused academic programs. Panel members agreed that universities are engines of climate-related innovation and their roles include conducting frontier research in areas such as renewable energy, carbon capture, and climate adaptation. They also affirmed that universities are ideal places to provide interdisciplinary problem-solving, by uniting scientists, engineers, economists, and policy experts toward common climate action goals.
On 鈥榠mplementation鈥�, discussions highlighted the role of universities as living laboratories where climate solutions are tested and implemented in real-world settings. Universities can demonstrate scalable models that other private or public entities can replicate, and they can deploy circular-economy practices, such as zero-waste initiatives and campus-wide emissions targets that set institutional accountability. The session also noted that climate action requires collective and cooperative efforts, universities are natural conveners, forming research and action networks across institutions, countries, and disciplines to pool expertise and resources, and partner with government and industry to translate research into policy and market-ready solutions.
On 鈥榗ommunication鈥�, panelists underscored the key role universities play in shaping climate understanding and awareness as they are the places where students across all disciplines on climate science and sustainability converge, and they can address challenges in misinformation through evidence-based climate literacy and trusted expert voices. Panelists also agreed that universities are platforms that host public dialogues, seminars, and conferences to broaden climate engagement.
