Al Ain: UAE University (UAEU) will be transformed into a graduate research institution under a new plan that promises a revised budget, remodelled facilities, and hiring of new faculty to suit the mission.

The move is a step forward following the creation of the National Research Foundation last year as a support element for scientific research addressing the nation's priorities and needs. Wyatt R. Hume, Provost at the UAEU, has been given the task to develop an appropriate roadmap for the new mission.

"We are not creating a new university - we are looking to transform an existing one - building on the strengths and traditions that have been developed here over the last 32 years," said Shaikh Nahyan Bin Mubarak Al Nahyan, Minister of Higher Education and Scientific Research. He was speaking at the opening ceremony of the 10th Annual Research Conference of the UAEU.

He said the UAE has been moving forward to become a regional leader as a knowledge-based economy.

"We are strengthening our national capabilities for knowledge creation and transforming it into useful application and enriching the everyday life of our people," he added.

The decision was taken after a recent review of the country's higher education system. "We have concluded that it is now time to develop this university into a comprehensive graduate research university for the UAE," he said.

Shaikh Nahyan said this is one of the most productive eras of scientific discovery in history. From agriculture to medicine, from aerospace to nanotechnology, from genetics engineering to climate change, science is undergoing a series of revolutions that are remaking the human ideas of what is possible.

Defining the new rule of the university, the minister said it will continue to offer undergraduate, graduate, and professional programme with a greater focus on research and creative activities.

"The university budget will be revised to reflect the change in mission and new funding will be sought," he said, adding that new faculty with successful research records in the areas designated by the university will be hired.