UN-JUN-EN 2026

Volume 11

June 2026

Enduring Education:

Protecting People and Quality

for Institutional Success

Protecting People and Quality

for Institutional Success

Leadership Spotlight

Professor Yusra Mouzughi,

Provost, University of Birmingham Dubai, UAE

FEATURING

Special Topics

Professor Nicholas

Thomas, Assistant Dean,

Abu Dhabi Hospitality

Academy – Les Roches,

UAE

Chef Leonardo Roman,

Abu Dhabi Hospitality

Academy – Les Roches,

UAE

Industry Perspectives

Dr. Dominik Fischer,

Science Consultant and

Founder, Fischer Strategy,

Germany

Academic Perspectives

Dr. Natalia Bussard, Program

Manager, Co-operative

Education, Simon Fraser

University, Canada

Dr. Khouloud Salameh,

Associate Dean, American

University of Ras Al Khaimah

(AURAK), UAE

Regional Focus

Charles Sun, Founder, China

Education International (CEI)

Student Showcase

College of Engineering and

Information Technology, Ajman

University, UAE

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About UniNewsletter

UniNewsletter is a multilingual digital publication delivering insights, perspec-

tives, and developments shaping global higher education.

Published by Global Gate Media & Publishing, UniNewsletter connects univer-

sities, policymakers, educators, and students across more than 100 countries

through content available in multiple languages, including English, Arabic,

French, Spanish, Portuguese, Russian, Chinese, and Swahili.

Each edition brings together voices from across the sector, highlighting institu-

tional initiatives, leadership perspectives, and emerging trends in international

education.

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Editorial Team:

Dr. Laura Vasquez Bass

Dr. Elizabeth Wallace

Dr. Katherine Wilson

Leadership Spotlight

Enduring Education: Protecting People and Quality for Institutional

Success

An Interview with Professor Yusra Mouzughi Provost, University of Birming-

ham Dubai, United Arab Emirates (UAE)

Special Topics

Twins, Tables and a Taste of the UAE: How Two Emirati Students Are

Building a Homegrown Hospitality Brand

Professor Nicholas Thomas, Assistant Dean – Academic Programs, Abu

Dhabi Hospitality Academy – Les Roches, United Arab Emirates (UAE)

Chef Leonardo Roman, Practical Arts & Events Manager, Abu Dhabi

Hospitality Academy – Les Roches, United Arab Emirates (UAE)

Academic Perspectives

Beyond Technology: How Universities Must Lead Meaningful AI-Driven

Digital Transformation

Dr. Khouloud Salameh, Associate Dean of the School of Engineering and

Computing, American University of Ras Al Khaimah (AURAK), Director,

Advanced Technology and Artificial Intelligence Center (ATAIC), United

Arab Emirates (UAE)

Regional Focus

The New Logic of Transnational Education in China: What Global Universi-

ties Need to Know

Charles Sun, Founder and Managing Director, China Education Interna-

tional (CEI)

Student Showcase

Students From Ajman University Build What Clinicians Actually Need

College of Engineering and Information Technology, Department of

Biomedical Engineering, Ajman University, United Arab Emirates (UAE)

Industry Perspectives

From Fragmentation to Alignment: How Universities Enable Creativity

Across Three Levels

Dr. Dominik Fischer, Science Consultant and Founder, Fischer Strategy,

Germany

Editorial

Welcome to UniNewsletter

Editorial Team

Table of Contents

-COVER STORY

Science, Environment and Health Sciences Co-operative Education:

Building Resilience in a Tech-Disrupted, Hyper-Competitive Labor Market

Dr. Natalia Bussard, Program Manager, Science, Environment and Health

Sciences Co-operative Education, Simon Fraser University, Canada

Enduring Education: Protecting People and Quality for Institutional Success |

This general issue of UniNewsletter features

many diverging topics, although most are

united by one common commitment they

share: ensuring universities offer the best edu-

cational experiences for their students. Accor-

dingly, this issue named “Enduring Education:

Protecting People and Quality for Institutional

Success” takes its title from our cover

story—our Leadership Spotlight interview with

Professor Yusra Mouzughi, Provost of the

University of Birmingham Dubai, United Arab

Emirates (UAE). In recalling many insights

taken from her distinguished career in higher

education in the US and the Middle East,

Professor Mouzughi ultimately concludes that

what higher education needs now more than

ever is to balance necessary transformation

with “remembering why we are in education,”

which is “to be there for students.”

In our Special Topics section, we feature a

wonderful story coming from Abu Dhabi Hospi-

tality Academy – Les Roches, also in the UAE.

The article by Professor Nicholas Thomas and

Chef Leonardo Roman tells the story of chefs

(and twins) Abdulrahman Alhashmi and

Maitha Alhashmi, known to a growing audien-

ce as the “Twins Chefs.” Pursuing their bache-

lor’s degrees at the academy, they are also the

founders of Twin Chefs Food Preparation. The

company is already making a mark in the Abu

Dhabi food scene, and the article outlines why

this matters beyond the twins themselves.

Writing in Industry Perspectives is Dr. Dominik

Fischer,

Founder

Fischer

Strategy

Germany. His article contends that universities

must move beyond treating creativity as a

by-product of academic activity and instead

actively cultivate it across three interconnec-

ted levels: individual, institutional and regional.

Referencing models from MIT, Aalto University,

ETH Zurich and Stanford, Fischer maps out how

Welcome to

UniNewsletter:

Editorial Team

Editorial

06 | Enduring Education: Protecting People and Quality for Institutional Success

Editorial

aligning talent development, flexible gover-

nance structures and place-based regional

engagement can transform universities from

performance evaluators into genuine engines

of sustained innovation, which is vital amid

today’s geopolitical and financial pressures.

In our Academic Perspectives section, we hear

from Dr. Natalia Bussard, Program Manager of

Co-operative Education (Science, Environment

and Health Sciences) at Simon Fraser Universi-

ty in Canada. Dr. Bussard’s article discusses

SFU’s Co-op Education programs, which “have

supported more than 19,000 paid work expe-

riences since 2020, generating over CAD$280

million in student earnings,” as she relays.

Highlighting the profiles of four students in

different roles, the article demonstrates the

real-world results of the programs by cente-

ring the voices of the students who are feeling

its impact in their career trajectories. She con-

cludes by stressing the relevance of the

human-centered skills these programs teach

in competing in employment markets of the

future.

Also writing in Academic Perspectives is Dr.

Khouloud Salameh, Associate Dean of the

School of Engineering and Computing at the

American University of Ras Al Khaimah

(AURAK). Dr. Salameh argues that meaningful

AI-driven digital transformation in higher edu-

cation extends well beyond technology acqui-

sition. Drawing on initiatives at AURAK—inclu-

ding a campus digitalization program enga-

ging students in live institutional challenges

and industry collaborations with Microsoft,

AWS and IBM—she makes the case that univer-

sities must cultivate cultures of ethical aware-

ness, adaptability and innovation to produce

graduates capable of leading societal change.

In our Regional Focus section we hear from

Charles Sun, Founder of China Education Inter-

national (CEI). He examines how China’s higher

education system is undergoing a strategic

realignment, shifting from a focus on scale and

access toward targeted investment in fields

supporting national priorities such as AI, semi-

conductors, biomedicine and green energy.

Sun outlines how transnational education

partnerships are increasingly evaluated on

programmatic alignment, research integra-

tion, and graduate outcomes, rather than

brand recognition alone. He concludes that

international universities willing to adapt their

offerings to China's strategic goals will find a

receptive and welcoming environment.

Closing the issue is a new section—Student

Showcase—which highlights student projects,

entrepreneurship and innovation, etc. This

issue’s article comes from Ajman University

(AU) in the UAE. It spotlights two undergraduate

teams from AU’s Department of Biomedical

Engineering whose prototypes—unveiled at

AU’s 2026 Business Innovation Exhibition—tac-

kle longstanding gaps in cardiac and neuro-

pathy detection. Students Nasima Moham-

mad Helal and Jon Zaccary Regala developed

Pulse, an AI-powered cardiac risk app achie-

ving 98.3% testing accuracy, while Mohammed

Wattar and Ali Hasan created DiaSens, a

device that standardizes neuropathy scree-

ning into a quantifiable clinical measurement.

The article shows both projects demonstrate

that problem-oriented undergraduate educa-

tion produces outcomes with real societal

value.

We are grateful to all our contributors for their

inspiring contributions and hope you enjoy

their reflections.

Enduring Education: Protecting People and Quality for Institutional Success |

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Chef Leonardo Roman

Practical Arts & Events Manager

Abu Dhabi Hospitality Academy – Les Roches

United Arab Emirates (UAE)

| Enduring Education: Protecting People and Quality for Institutional Success

Professor Nicholas Thomas

Assistant Dean – Academic Programs

Abu Dhabi Hospitality Academy – Les Roches

United Arab Emirates (UAE)

Special Topics

“We never wanted to build

something that looked like it

could be from anywhere.

Every concept we create

starts with a question: What

does this feel like if you grew

up here? The answer to that

question is the brand.”

—Maitha Alhashmi,

co-founder of Twin Chefs

Food Preparation

Walk into the right pop-up in Abu Dhabi on

the right weekend, and you might find a Nea-

politan pizza coming out of the oven that

tastes faintly of the desert. A queue out the

door. Behind the counter, two young Emirati

chefs who happen to be twins, and who also

happen to be university students, are plating

the next order.

Chefs Abdulrahman Alhashmi and Maitha

Alhashmi, known to a growing audience as

the Twin Chefs, are the founders of Twin Chefs

Food Preparation, a multi-brand hospitality

company quietly becoming one of the more

interesting homegrown stories in the UAE

food scene. They are also students pursuing

bachelor’s degrees at Abu Dhabi Hospitality

Twins, Tables and a

Taste of the UAE:

How Two Emirati Students Are Building

a Homegrown Hospitality Brand

How Two Emirati Students Are Building

a Homegrown Hospitality Brand

Special Topics

Enduring Education: Protecting People and Quality for Institutional Success |

Academy – Les Roches. Both things are true

at once, and that is part of what makes their

story worth telling.

A Brand Built on Identity

Long before there was a company, there was

a shared instinct. Abdulrahman and Maitha

were cooking independently by the age of

nine. By 13, they had earned a Professional

Diploma in Commercial Cookery, becoming

the youngest twin chefs in the UAE and the

Middle East to receive that recognition. Before

high school, they had already decided that

food was not a hobby. It was a direction.

Twin Chefs Food Preparation was founded

with a clear idea in mind: modern culinary

concepts that blend international techniques

with Emirati identity and flavors. Today, what

began as a shared passion for food, hospital-

ity, and storytelling has grown into a small

portfolio of brands, each with its own distinct

personality and each carrying the same

thread of UAE heritage.

Special Topics

Four Brands. One Vision.

Napoli by Twins is their Neapolitan pizza con-

cept, built on traditional Italian techniques

and

then

layered

with

Emirati-inspired

flavors and ingredients. Savor by Twins is a

specialty coffee and artisanal Emirati gelato

concept rooted in Emirati heritage and craft-

ed with Italian methods. Twin Chef Catering

handles VIP and royal experiences, private

events and cultural hospitality. And Crusted,

their

newest

concept,

modern

street-style wagyu burger and steak brand

with bold flavors and an Emirati twist.

The division of labor between the siblings is

part of what makes it work. Abdulrahman

focuses on culinary development, opera-

tions, and concept execution, with a strong

interest in kitchen innovation and hospitality

management. Maitha leads creative direc-

tion, branding, guest experience and product

development. Together, they collaborate on

menu creation, growth strategy and brand

identity. One handles the kitchen, the other

handles the story. Both of them care about

the guest.

“We never wanted to build something that

looked like it could be from anywhere. Every

concept we create starts with a question:

| Enduring Education: Protecting People and Quality for Institutional Success

“

Running a kitchen teaches

you speed and instinct. The

program is teaching us

structure. We need both.

You cannot scale what you

cannot explain, and the

academy is helping us

learn how to explain it.

—Abdulrahman Alhashmi,

co-founder of Twin Chefs

Food Preparation

“Running a kitchen teaches you speed and

instinct. The program is teaching us structure.

We need both. You cannot scale what you

cannot explain, and the academy is helping

us learn how to explain it.”

—Abdulrahman Alhashmi, co-founder of

Twin Chefs Food Preparation

That posture matters. A lot of young entre-

preneurs in this region treat formal education

and entrepreneurship as a binary, as if one

has to wait while the other happens. The

Alhashmis are quietly demonstrating some-

thing different: the classroom and the busi-

ness can run in parallel. A classroom discus-

sion on Wednesday can shape how they

serve on Friday.

Why This Matters Beyond Two Students

The UAE hospitality industry has spent two

decades

importing

concepts:

imported

chefs, imported brands, imported standards.

Special Topics

What does this feel like if you grew up here?

The answer to that question is the brand.”

—Maitha Alhashmi, co-founder of Twin Chefs

Food Preparation

Why Hospitality School While Already Run-

ning a Company

It would be reasonable to ask why two found-

ers with active brands, working kitchens and

a catering division would also enroll in a

bachelor's program. They have a thoughtful

answer.

They chose Abu Dhabi Hospitality Academy –

Les Roches because they wanted an educa-

tion that combines international hospitality

standards with real-world industry exposure.

The academy gives them the opportunity to

develop both the business and operational

sides of hospitality while continuing to grow

their brands in the UAE. In other words, school

is not separate from the work. It feeds the

work.

Enduring Education: Protecting People and Quality for Institutional Success |

“ Hospitality, done

at its best, is not just

service. It is cultural

infrastructure.”

Much of that has been excellent, shaping the

country into one of the most ambitious

hospitality markets in the world. But there is a

growing appetite from guests and industry

alike for concepts that are unmistakably

from here. Concepts that do not need to

apologize for being Emirati, and do not need

to translate themselves to be understood.

Twin Chefs sits squarely in that movement.

The Italian techniques are not a costume. The

Emirati flavors are not a garnish. The

combination is the concept. That kind of

confidence is what allows a young brand to

grow into a national one, and eventually a

regional one.

There is a second layer here, too: the local

community. When Emirati founders build

hospitality brands, the ripple effects reach

further than a single restaurant's revenue.

Local suppliers gain a customer. Local

culinary talent sees a path not just as

employees but as owners. Local culture gets

translated into something visitors can taste.

Hospitality, done at its best, is not just service.

It is cultural infrastructure. That is what the

Alhashmis are building, one brand at a time.

The Roadmap Ahead

Ask them about the future, and they speak in

five-year increments. In the next five years,

the goal is to expand their hospitality brands

across the UAE, strengthen the catering and

events

division,

and

establish

flagship

locations for their concepts while continuing

to innovate Emirati-inspired cuisine.

By the 10-year mark, they want to grow into a

recognized regional hospitality group with

multiple concepts operating across the GCC,

including restaurants, cafes, and lifestyle

Special Topics

| Enduring Education: Protecting People and Quality for Institutional Success

“We both want to build

something that outlasts

us. Opening a culinary

school is not just a

business goal. It is about

making sure the next

generation of Emirati

chefs does not have to

figure it out alone the

way we did.” —Chefs

Abdulrahman Alhashmi

and Maitha Alhashmi

Special Topics

Enduring Education: Protecting People and Quality for Institutional Success |

hospitality experiences. They also want to

open a culinary institution to educate and

train young local talent. That last piece is

worth pausing on. It tells you something

about how they see themselves. Not just

operators. Not just brand builders. Teachers,

eventually. The same instinct that drew them

to formal education is the one they want to

pay forward.

“We both want to build something that

outlasts us. Opening a culinary school is not

just a business goal. It is about making sure

the next generation of Emirati chefs does not

have to figure it out alone the way we did.”

—Chefs Abdulrahman Alhashmi and Maitha

Alhashmi

By year 15, the vision widens again: a globally

recognized Emirati hospitality brand that

represents

modern

UAE

cuisinezand

hospitality ventures. It is an ambitious plan. It

is also, given what they have already built

before finishing their degrees, a plausible one.

What Students Can Take From This

There is an important lesson tucked inside the

Twin Chefs story, especially for students

wondering whether they have to choose

between

building

something

now

and

learning the craft properly. The answer the

Alhashmis offer is this: You do not. You can

run a kitchen on the weekend and sit in a

finance class on Monday. You can take what

your professor said about service recovery on

Tuesday and apply it at a catering event on

Saturday. Education and entrepreneurship

are not rivals. They are partners, if you let

them be.

The other lesson is about identity. The

Alhashmis did not build a brand that hides

where they come from. They built one that

begins there. The world does not need

another generic concept. It needs more

founders willing to put their heritage on the

plate, and to do it with technique and care.

Two twins. Four brands. One degree program.

A whole lot of runway. The Twin Chefs are

worth watching, and worth rooting for.

Follow Their Work

Instagram: @uae_twin_chefs | @napoli.-

bytwins

@savor_by_twins

@crust-

ed_indxb

| Enduring Education: Protecting People and Quality for Institutional Success

Dr. Dominik Fischer

Science Consultant and Founder,

Fischer Strategy, Germany

Industry Perspectives

“Amid geopolitical instability,

tightening financial

constraints and rising societal

skepticism toward science,

universities can no longer be

judged solely by what they

produce, but by their capacity

for renewal.”

Creativity has long been a core currency of

universities, visible in scientific outputs like

publications, teaching, knowledge transfer

and spin-offs. Yet the conditions under which

these outputs are generated and valued are

changing. Amid geopolitical instability, tight-

ening financial constraints and rising societal

skepticism toward science, universities can

no longer be judged solely by what they

produce, but by their capacity for renewal.

Creativity, therefore, no longer can be treated

as a by-product and must be actively ena-

bled. Yet creativity does not emerge by

chance; it is shaped—or constrained—by the

institutional conditions that too often remain

defined by rigid governance structures,

narrow performance metrics and fragment-

ed organizational logics.

Addressing this challenge requires more than

incremental reform. It calls for a systemic

perspective best addressed via a multilevel

approach that aligns individuals, institutions

and regional ecosystems to enable universi-

ties to translate creative potential into

sustained innovation.

The

Individual

Level:

Recognizing

and

Developing Potential

At first, creativity originates in individuals and

their capacity to generate new ideas and

perspectives. This capacity, best understood

as potential, evolves over time and cannot be

fully captured by past performance alone.

Recruitment

and

career

development

processes must therefore shift toward identi-

fying qualities that enable future contribu-

tions.

In this context, Claudio Fernández-Aráoz

argues in his article, “21st-Century Talent

Spotting,” that the first indicator is the right

kind of motivation, defined as a strong com-

mitment pursuing goals beyond self-interest.

Additionally, there are four other dimensions

when identifying high potentials: curiosity,

insight, engagement and determination.

These traits are particularly relevant in com-

plex research environments, where innova-

tion depends less on accumulated knowl-

edge than on navigating uncertainty, inte-

grating perspectives and sustaining effort.

This perspective is increasingly shaping Euro-

pean academic recruitment systems, which

have traditionally relied on seniority and

merit. Universities such as ETH Zurich and the

Technical University of Munich were among

the first institutions in their respective coun-

tries to introduce tenure-track systems that

emphasize early independence and future

potential. In addition, research organizations

such as the Max Planck Society and the Euro-

pean Molecular Biology Laboratory provide

group leader models that offer early-career

researchers autonomy and the resources to

develop bold ideas.

From Fragmentation

to Alignment:

Industry Perspectives

How Universities Enable Creativity

Across Three Levels

Enduring Education: Protecting People and Quality for Institutional Success |

However, detecting and nurturing individual

potential alone is insufficient. Without sup-

portive environments, even highly capable

individuals cannot fully realize their creative

capacity. This shifts attention to the institu-

tional level.

The Institutional Level: Universities as Ena-

blers

To enable creativity, universities must rede-

fine their role from evaluators of performance

to enablers of potential. This requires aligning

culture and governance.

Supportive institutional culture is the founda-

tion. It encourages experimentation, tolerates

failure and values diverse perspectives, while

prioritizing long-term capability building over

short-term metrics. The Massachusetts Insti-

tute of Technology exemplifies this through

its long-standing “sandbox” approach, such

as the MIT Media Lab and the Undergraduate

Research Opportunities Program, or UROP,

enabling exploratory research environments.

Similarly, Aalto University integrates cocrea-

tion into its core through interdisciplinary

platforms such as the Design Factory. Across

these examples, regarded as role models by

numerous universities, a common principle

emerges: creativity thrives when institutions

actively lower barriers to collaboration and

exploration.

This principle must also be reflected in gov-

ernance and structure. Flexible funding

mechanisms and organizational designs are

essential to support interdisciplinary work

and calculated risk-taking. Early initiatives at

Stanford University such as Bio-X and the

Stanford Institute for Human-Centered AI

(HAI) demonstrate how dedicated interdisci-

Industry Perspectives

“Yet creativity does not emerge

by chance; it is shaped—or

constrained—by the institutional

conditions that too often remain

defined by rigid governance

structures, narrow performance

metrics and fragmented

organizational logics.”

“To enable creativity,

universities must

redefine their role from

evaluators of

performance to

enablers of potential.

This requires aligning

culture and

governance.”

plinary structures can cut across traditional

boundaries and align research with broader

societal challenges.

Yet even well-aligned institutions cannot fully

realize creativity in isolation. Their impact

depends on how effectively they are embed-

ded in and connected to their surrounding

environments.

The Regional Level: Connecting Potential to

Place

Universities need to realize they are integral

parts of regional ecosystems. Their ability to

| Enduring Education: Protecting People and Quality for Institutional Success

Industry Perspectives

translate creativity into societal and eco-

nomic value depends on strong connections

with industry, policy and civil society. Effective

regional engagement begins by aligning

institutional strengths with regional priorities.

Trust-based collaboration enables knowl-

edge exchange, supports entrepreneurship

and creates pathways for impact. This is par-

ticularly important for regions outside major

metropolitan centers, where universities can

act as anchors of transformation by linking

academic expertise to local development.

However, these ecosystems often face struc-

tural constraints. Funding systems frequently

prioritize individual or institutional excellence,

neglecting the spaces in between where

collaboration and translation occur. As a

result, the conditions necessary for sustained

creative spillovers remain underdeveloped.

Targeted, place-based investments can help

address this gap. In Germany, the Dieter

Schwarz Foundation shows how long-term

regional

engagement

the

Heilbronn

Bildungscampus can strengthen innovation

ecosystems

connecting

education,

research and economic development.

These approaches highlight a crucial point:

creativity reaches its full potential when indi-

vidual capabilities and institutional frame-

works are effectively linked to regional con-

texts.

Breaking Barriers: Overcoming Systemic

Constraints

Fostering creativity in higher education

requires alignment across three intercon-

nected levels: individuals, institutions and

regional ecosystems. Each level provides

necessary but not sufficient conditions. Only

interaction enables sustained creativity to

emerge.

A multilevel perspective is not a quick fix, but

provides a structured way to address frag-

mentation. Embracing this approach can

reposition universities as integrative actors,

linking talent, structures and environments

into

coherent

systems

innovation.

Ultimately, creativity becomes not just an

outcome, but a capacity deliberately culti-

vated through the alignment of people,

organizations and places.

Enduring Education: Protecting People and Quality for Institutional Success |