BUILDING A COMMUNITY OF EXCELLENCE Khalifa University Strategic Plan 2012-2017 June 2012

CONTENT A Message from the President

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Executive Summary

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Summary of Key Institutional Goals and 2012 Initiatives

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Elaborated Plan Development and Key Inputs

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Elaborated Institutional Goals and Objectives

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Khalifa University Research Strategy

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A Message from the President Prof. Tod A. Laursen I am very pleased to introduce Khalifa University’s five year strategic plan entitled: “Building a Community of Excellence.” The plan is designed to guide the growth and ambitions of the institution and is the outcome of the first truly comprehensive planning exercise conducted on our two campuses. This exercise began in the very early days of the formation of the university, dating to early 2008, and is intended to serve the university and its many constituents. As with any such planning exercise, it was critical to actively and frequently engage faculty, staff and students with substantive issues throughout the process. Our staff size has increased at least fivefold since the initial plan was formulated. This gave us the opportunity to incorporate the ideas and experiences of larger numbers of faculty and staff – members who were not present at Khalifa University during its formative days. There are six major institutional goals identified in the plan, all of which are described at length in this document. However, I would like to draw your attention by emphasizing some of the key themes represented in our work: Excellence: At its core, Khalifa University (KU) was founded to be a key part of the nation’s ambitious socio-economic and educational development plan as articulated in Abu Dhabi’s 2030 vision. As such, we must aspire to be an engine of growth to diversify the UAE economy and expand Abu Dhabi’s knowledge-based economy. We must be distinctive in the quality of programs we provide, in our ability to prepare a highly trained and creative workforce for the country, in our ability to advance the frontiers of knowledge in service of the common good, and in our contributions to the development of a truly innovative ecosystem in Abu Dhabi. As students, faculty and staff we must collectively align our efforts to fulfill these expectations and pursue international standards of quality and excellence. Integrated and Multidisciplinary Research and Training: KU aspires to be a true research university which leverages the opportunities and development aspirations of Abu Dhabi. We seek to make distinctive contributions to important societal challenges through initiative-based research programs and by nimbly assembling multidisciplinary teams to provide timely solutions with a significant regional impact. Our faculty should be versed not only in the creation of knowledge, but also in its translation – providing an important engine to the development of the local economy and the region. Our faculty is committed to both innovative teaching and world-class scholarship. We believe firmly that the quality of education received by a student in a research university is fundamentally strengthened when delivered by true innovators in engineering, science and medicine. Community: At present, our faculty and staff come from over 40 countries, and our student body is intentionally diverse and co-educational. At the same time, we are emphasizing the preparation of UAE nationals for the local economy. We believe that the diversity of our campus community is a key ingredient in our formula for excellence, and as a new institution we seek to build a campus culture which is supportive, collaborative, and conducive to interdisciplinary scholarship. As we grow from a startup institution into a small to medium-sized research institution, we believe it is vital that this community spirit should be nurtured and enhanced. I am excited about the future of Khalifa University and invite you to browse this document for more information on what we are planning for the institution. KU is an incredibly vibrant place to work, and I hope you will follow us in the years ahead to share in our success.

Tod A. Laursen

President and Professor of Mechanical Engineering Khalifa University

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Executive Summary Khalifa University: Current Context Khalifa University of Science, Technology and Research is an Abu Dhabi Government initiative owned solely by the Emirate of Abu Dhabi. The university was inaugurated in February 2007, and opened its interim campus in Abu Dhabi in October 2008. The Sharjah campus of Khalifa University (formerly Etisalat University College) has a very proud 18-year history, and in February 2008 was merged with the Khalifa University of Science, Technology and Research to form the foundation of Khalifa University. The university currently offers a range of bachelors, masters, and PhD programs in most fields of engineering (organized within the College of Engineering), as well as an MA program in International and Civil Security. Future colleges are planned in medicine, science, and management. The university has as its primary mandate the development of a top quality technical workforce, attracting and developing the brightest young Emirati minds learning together with top quality regional and international students, and cultivated by a world class faculty in a stimulating and modern educational environment. Distinguishing factors of this environment will be a vibrant culture for innovation and research, a student-centered culture for learning using latest pedagogical methods, and a community which features multiculturalism and coeducational learning. In the Fall of 2010, the University enrolled approximately 650 students between its two campuses, and had approximately 80 faculty members. The 2012 academic year began with just under 1000 students total, and about 120 faculty members. Current plans call for an augmentation of the temporary Abu Dhabi campus site to accommodate a total student population of approximately 2500. The Abu Dhabi campus in the next five years will focus on development of additional instructional and teaching laboratory space, office space, student recreational facilities, and a medical school educational and research facility. Vision: To be a leading international center of higher education and research in technology and science. Mission: Khalifa University of Science, Technology and Research is an independent, non-profit coeducational institution, dedicated to the advancement of learning through teaching and research and to the discovery and application of knowledge. It pursues international recognition as a world class research university, with a strong tradition of inter-disciplinary teaching and research and of partnering with leading universities around the world. The University endeavors to serve the Emirate of Abu Dhabi, UAE society, the region and the world by providing an environment of creative enquiry within which critical thinking, human values, technical competence and practical and social skills, business acumen and a capability for lifetime learning are cultivated and sustained. It sets itself high standards in providing a caring, rewarding and enriching environment for all of its students and staff. It ensures that its graduates, on entering the workplace, form a superlative cadre of engineers, technologists and scientists, capable of making major contributions to the current and future sectors of UAE industry and society as leaders and innovators. The University insists on the highest world class standards of academic excellence in all that it does. It complements other universities in the region by providing, in its chosen areas of activity, the best teaching and research available in the region. It strives to meet demands for expansion while never compromising on quality.

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INSTITUTIONAL GOAL 1

INSTITUTIONAL GOAL 4

To achieve these goals, we believe that a set of institutional initiatives should be maintained, evaluated and updated on at least an annual basis, to give focus to our efforts moving forward. This part of the strategic plan, pertaining to the initiatives and the underlying implementation plans, will accordingly be updated annually rather than remaining static. Just as an example of the approach to be followed, the set of Institutional Initiatives identified for the 2012 year are:

SUMMARY OF KEY INSTITUTIONAL GOALS AND 2012 INITIATIVES Inspired by the mission and vision of the university, and after a comprehensive review of the existing campus community and needs of our stakeholders, the strategic planning process has led to identification of the following high level goals that will guide our development in the next five years.

Create and nurture a culture of research and innovation excellence focused on challenges of societal and economic importance

Foster an enhanced university community

1) Offer graduate school/graduate studies that include interdisciplinary MSc and PhD programs; including identification of priority programs. 2) Establish a research office and internal research fund; identify strategic areas of research emphasis.

INSTITUTIONAL GOAL 2

INSTITUTIONAL GOAL 5

3) Ensure classrooms and student facilities are state of the art through a campus expansion. 4) Establish a center for learning and teaching that includes state of the art teaching tools and strategies. 5) Establish and staff Student Learning Centers. 6) Revitalize and systematize student recruitment, to attract the best and the brightest UAE students.

Ensure that educational excellence is a top priority in all programs

7) Identify opportunities and strategies to engage faculty and staff.

Maintain a top quality external relations function

8) Increase co-curricular opportunities for students on campus. 9) Establish and fund employee development plans. INSTITUTIONAL GOAL 3

10) Establish External Relations function and institutional communication plans and strategies

INSTITUTIONAL GOAL 6

11) Establish institutional effectiveness plan to continually assess efficacy of processes, policies, practices, and allocation of resources.



12) Establish a medical school partnership and a school of medicine.

Build a student-centric community and facilities

Create a university wide commitment to institutional effectiveness which ensures that academic and support functions are implemented as efficiently as possible

Implementation plans for these initiatives, including timelines for each, are included in a separate document which will be updated each calendar year.

 

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Prior Strategic Plans

ELABORATED PLAN DEVELOPMENT AND KEY INPUTS

Khalifa University last performed a systematic Strategic Planning Exercise in February of 2008, at a time roughly corresponding to the merger with the former Etisalat University College. An external consultant, Hewitt Consulting, was retained in late 2008 to facilitate further development of this plan and aid in the definition of key organizational milestones and performance indicators that would serve the university in its early stages of development. Both of these exercises occurred before much of the current community had joined the university, particularly on the Abu Dhabi campus, and also naturally focused on structural and organizational items associated with starting a new university. Steps in Current Process With the arrival of the new President, Tod A. Laursen, from Duke University in the summer of 2010 and under his leadership, this strategic planning process was intended to obtain broad input from university constituencies, local stakeholders, and external advisory bodies, and to set the primary priorities for the university’s development over the next five year period (2012-2017). The structure of the process followed has been broadly consultative. After a series of small workshops with university academic leaders, faculty, and professional staff during the Fall of 2010, and consultation with the Board of Trustees during in its December 2010 meeting, the process was kicked off in the Spring of 2011 with the following activities: • January 2011: Consultation by the President with the Academic Leadership Group, consisting of Vice Presidents, Provost, Dean, and Chairs, drafting strategic planning subcommittee titles and charges

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Central Assumptions in this Process • Late February 2011: Finalization of committee membership, ensuring that each group had faculty, staff and student input included in its processes, with membership from both campuses. • March-April 2011: Subcommittee work carried out. • April 30, 2011: Subcommittee presentations made by subcommittee co-chairs in University wide retreat, allowing Khalifa University community the opportunity for comment and input. • Early May 2011: Written subcommittee reports placed on intranet and community comments solicited on recommendations and content. • Late May-June 2011: Executive committee, consisting of subcommittee co-chairs, convened to assimilate subcommittee recommendations into this report. • Early July 2011: High level institutional goals completed, and underlying objectives associated with each identified. • September 2011: Detailed review of the strategic plan draft accomplished with President’s Academic Advisory Council (PAAC). • Fall 2011: Led by Office of Institutional Research and Planning, identification of University-level initiatives and development of implementation plans for primary units of the University. • February 2012: High level review of the strategic plan draft accomplished with Khalifa University Executive Committee of the Board of Trustees.

At this point in Khalifa University’s history, the following considerations are central to planning its future development and setting its priorities: • The mission of the university should be viewed in the context of the Abu Dhabi 2030 Plan, which sets out the economic, social, and intellectual development priorities of the Emirate. The mandate of this plan for a knowledge-based economy makes clear the key role higher education must play in the development of the future work force and innovation economy necessary for the success of this plan • Khalifa University seeks to be an agent for change for economic and societal development for Abu Dhabi and the UAE. It should also drive change in other ways, by supporting teaching, research and innovation to an international standard, bringing credit to the nation and its people while attracting different kinds of talent to the region • Khalifa University’s focus will always be on the development of people, particularly its students. As a technologically focused university it must enable students and faculty to create knowledge that supports new products, processes, and services for economic and societal benefit and educate the future knowledge worker. • As a relatively new university, many of our current challenges are operational. Ensuring that transparency and institutional effectiveness are present in processes for employee development, staff evaluation and promotion, budgeting and decision making, purchasing, and other key administrative functions is of vital importance as Khalifa university makes the transition from start-up to mature institution.

• Early February 2011: Public strategic plan kick-off presentations by the President on both the Sharjah and Abu Dhabi campuses, presenting proposed subcommittee titles and draft charges and soliciting volunteers for subcommittee membership KHALIFA UNIVERSITY

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ELABORATED INSTITUTIONAL GOALS AND OBJECTIVES With these considerations in mind, the following broad institutional goals and associated objectives have emerged from the university community using the processes described in this section

GOAL 1

GOAL 2

Create and nurture a culture of research and innovation excellence focusing on challenges of societal and economic importance.

Ensure that educational excellence has top priority in all programs.

Build a student-centric community and facilities.

1.1 Build a world-class faculty by aggressively recruiting, developing, empowering, and retaining an excellent faculty.

2.1 Develop a common framework for undergraduate engineering degree programs, considering an appropriate balance of technical content, scientific foundations, design and innovation, and humanities and social sciences.

3.1 Integrate student-academic and student life functions.

1.2 Ensure that every faculty member has a career path to academic excellence and success and dedicated enabling institutional support.

2.2 Build and maintain modern and fully equipped laboratory and teaching facilities for both undergraduate and graduate education.

1.3 Expand and aggressively develop strategically important Masters and PhD programs to enable knowledge creation, innovation, and the development of the future UAE knowledge work force, as per Abu Dhabi Plan 2030.

2.3 Ensure rigorous assessment of academic programs in line with national and international accreditation standards.

1.4 Develop interdisciplinary research clusters that build on and help strengthen the graduate programs. 1.5 Develop effective strategic partnerships with leading international and local universities. 1.6

Stimulate high quality competitive research through establishment of a research fund and proactive promotion of faculty ideas.

1.7 Stimulate the translation of research to innovation through appropriate incentive structures. 1.8

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2.4 Create vigorous outreach programs attracting the best local, regional and international students.

GOAL 3

3.2 Promote and actively support students’ academic development through creating and maintaining student learning facilities and programs. 3.3 Empower students’ personal and professional development through ongoing counseling and academic advising. 3.4 Ensure that the student’s interests provide the direction for the design and operation of facilities for current and future campuses.

2.5 Develop the finest preparatory program in the nation, with top quality offerings in basic Sciences and English instruction. 2.6 Support curricular innovation and modern teaching approaches, in part through creation of an institute for educational research and innovation. 2.7 Ensure that new, cutting edge approaches for addressing current societal challenges are reflected in graduate and undergraduate courses and curricula.

Leverage internal research and innovation resources so that the University is the preferred research partner for UAE enterprise.

1.9 Establish infrastructure that facilitates the development and protection of intellectual property and entrepreneurship. KHALIFA UNIVERSITY

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GOAL 4

GOAL 5

GOAL 6

Operationalizing the Plan Foster an enhanced university community. 4.1 Cultivate and actively promote an inclusive sense of community to synergize campuses, faculty, staff, and students. 4.2 Create and implement transparent, proactive, and effective internal communication channels. 4.3 Develop policies and supporting processes that encourage personal and professional development for all faculty, staff, and students, including an active and effective program for development of Emirati faculty and staff. 4.4 Create and maintain an intellectually attractive environment for faculty and staff to promote effective recruitment and retention. 4.5 Create a pleasant and exciting working and living environment for faculty, staff, and their families.

Maintain a top quality external relations function. 5.1 Implement an integrated approach to communications, marketing, and external relations to consistently reflect the University’s values and mission. 5.2 Develop an industrial relations capability that facilitates new international partnerships, leading to near market research incubators, and vigorously generates internship and career opportunities for our students. 5.3 Build strong capabilities for support of international academic partnerships. 5.4 Develop and maintain an active alumni network that supports and promotes the university locally and internationally.

Create a University wide commitment to institutional effectiveness which ensures that academic and support functions are implemented as efficiently as possible 6.1 Build a world-class staff that is dedicated to enabling and continuously improving excellence in education, research, and innovation by aggressive recruitment, development, empowerment, and retention. 6.2 Develop and maintain procedures that appropriately delegate decision-making authority and accountability. 6.3 Develop and maintain budgeting, staffing, and space planning procedures with an appropriate balance of centralized and decentralized processes. 6.4 Create and implement administrative policies and procedures that are efficient, transparent, and enable excellence among students and faculty. 6.5 Establish a system whereby policies are regularly reviewed for possible improvements, updated as necessary and made readily available to concerned stak holders. 6.6 Implement a set of institutional effectiveness procedures that evaluates individual and unit performance at all levels within the institution based on setting goals, evaluating performance and giving feedback that improves output.

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Our vision is that for such a young university, the initiatives we undertake, as well as the key performance indicators that units are responsible for, should be clearly tied to the above institutional goals and objectives, and annually reviewed both to measure progress and to update initiatives as necessary. The aforementioned 12 institutional initiatives have therefore been identified, and developed initially with a two year planning window for 2012 and 2013, with the expectation that they will be dynamic and subject to annual evaluation and updating. In a separate document, entitled Khalifa University Institutional Initiatives for 2012, these initiatives are elaborated upon and discussed with respect to intersection with the above institutional goals. In particular, this document, as well as documents for subsequent years, will contain: • Implementation plans for each institutional initiative. • Timelines for key steps in each initiative. • Resource requirements. • Key benchmarks to be utilized in measuring progress. • Key accountabilities within the organization, needed to assure the success of each initiative.

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KHALIFA UNIVERSITY RESEARCH STRATEGY May 2012

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Research Vision Khalifa University aspires to being a true research university which leverages the opportunities and development aspirations of Abu Dhabi. We seek to make distinctive contributions to important societal challenges through initiative-based research programs and by nimbly assembling multidisciplinary teams to provide timely solutions with a significant regional impact. Our faculty should be versed not only in the creation of knowledge, but also in its translation – providing an important engine to the development of the local economy and the region. Our faculty is committed to both innovative teaching and world-class scholarship. We believe firmly that the quality of education received by a student in a research university is fundamentally strengthened when delivered by true innovators in engineering, science and medicine.

Research Goals The University plans to achieve its vision by pursuing the following research goals: (a) To develop strategic research priorities considering global grand challenges, Abu Dhabi 2030 Plan, national interests, and the needs of local stakeholders. (b) To build a world class community of scholars by recruiting, nurturing and retaining faculty with outstanding track records in teaching and research. (c) To develop a research organizational structure that facilitates scholarly fundamental research, innovation-focused research and high risk, high reward research. To develop interdisciplinary Graduate Research Institutes and innovation-focused, mission driven Research and Development (R&D) Centers. To create a thriving interdisciplinary research and innovation enterprise with high scientific and economic impact, and evidence of excellence including visible and cited publications in top international journals. (d) To become a leading developer of high impact innovations with evidence of excellence including intellectual property, startup ventures, and technology transfer that can lead to new products. To actively promote a culture that stimulates the translation of research from bench to end user through innovation. To be seen as the university collaborator of first choice to national and international industries operating in the UAE, as evidenced by industrially sponsored research centers and collaborative research arrangements. To establish research infrastructure including the Office of Research Services to support and manage the research enterprise. (e) To develop strategically important Masters and PhD programs and recruit top graduate students who will contribute to knowledge creation, innovation, and the future UAE knowledge work force, as per the Abu Dhabi 2030 Plan. (f)

To simulate high quality competitive research through establishment of an internal research fund. To build partnerships with external stakeholders to generate resources for research and graduate education and to be the preferred research partner for UAE enterprises. (g) Develop effective strategic partnerships with leading international and local universities

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Research Priorities Khalifa University strives to create a culture of research and innovation excellence focused on challenges of strategic, economic and societal importance. With the emphasis of the Abu Dhabi 2030 Plan on the development of a knowledge based economy underpinned by a vibrant Science, Technology and Innovation (STI) base KU seeks to play a key role in this transformation. The University will develop an institutional approach for evolving such strategic research priorities. The University plans to identify research initiatives of a “grand challenge” nature, focused on problems and solutions requiring large teams and multidisciplinary expertise, ensuring that the impact is at least national or regional in scope and results in tangible societal benefits. The University will focus on the development of a research portfolio with centers of excellence developed around five strategic priority areas: 1) Information and Communication Technology (ICT) 2) Aerospace, Transport and Logistics 3) Energy and the Environment 4) Healthcare 5) Security

The University is in the process of developing a number of interdisciplinary Graduate Research Institutes and R&D Centers related to these strategic priority areas. Following is a list of current or planned initiatives, under each of these strategic priority areas.

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Information and Communication Technology (ICT) • The University partnered with the Emirates Telecommunication Corporation (Etisalat) and British Telecom (BT) to establish the Etisalat-BT Innovation Center (EBTIC) which is currently housed at the Abu Dhabi Campus of the University. • The University is working with the Advanced Technology Investment Company (ATIC) to establish the ATICKUSTAR Semiconductor Research & Development Center. • The University signed a Research Agreement with the University of Bristol (UK) to establish a joint research center in Visual Signal Analysis and Processing (VSAP).

Aerospace, Transport and Logistics • The University is working with the Aerospace Holding Company under Mubadala to establish an Aerospace Research and Innovation Center (ARIC). • Aerospace Engineering research will be clustered around the following broad areas: materials and structures, dynamics and controls, and aerodynamics and propulsion. • The University plans to launch the new Department of Industrial and Systems Engineering in the Fall of 2012. The department will focus on transport and logistics research. In the future, the University plans evolve the program into a College of Logistics and Management with a Logistics Research Institute.

Energy and the Environment • The University’s research in Nuclear Engineering clusters around the following broad areas: reactor physics, thermal hydraulics, dynamics, instrumentation and control, radiation metrology and radiological protection, materials and chemistry, and nuclear safety security safeguards. • Mechanical Engineering will create a research focus in energy and sustainability. Specifically two thrust areas will be pursued: advanced materials, and thermal systems and design. • The University plans to establish a Department of Civil Infrastructure and Environmental Engineering by the Fall of 2014.

• The University has established the ICT Research Center with the following research groups: Communication & Information Systems (CIS), Multimedia Communication and Signal Processing (MCSP), e-Services and Networks (eSNRG), and Embedded Mixed-Signal Systems (EMSS).

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Security • The University has established an Information Security Research Group. • The University partnered with Cassidian and Emiraj to establish the Cyber Operations Center of Excellence. • The University has established the International and Civil Security Institute.

Healthcare •

Biomedical Engineering research will encompass two strategic research areas: cardiometabolic disorders and human movement.

• The University is in the process of establishing a College of Medicine and Health Sciences.

Other Multidisciplinary Priorities The University also has a number of multidisciplinary research initiatives spanning more than one of the strategic areas: • The University has established a Robotics Institute with applications in security and healthcare. • The University plans to introduce a materials research activity with research clustered in advanced materials, nano-materials and composite materials. • The University plans to capitalize on a nascent research activity in high performance computing by integrating advanced computational activities and needs across the campus into a “Big Data”- High Performance Computing initiative. This will include existing programs as well as those envisioned by the College of Medicine and Health Sciences.

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KHALIFA UNIVERSITY P.O. Box 127788 Abu Dhabi, UAE T: +971 2 401 8000 F: +971 2 447 2442 P.O. Box 573 Sharjah, UAE T: +971 6 597 8888 F: +971 6 561 1789 www.kustar.ac.ae

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