Middlesex University Dubai and The Year of Community in the UAE
- Monday, 27 January 2025
Today, 27 January 2025, UAE President His Highness Sheikh Mohamed Bin Zayed Al Nahyan announced that 2025 will be observed as the Year of Community in the UAE.
Professor Cody Morris Paris, Deputy Director of Research & Business and Head of the Business School at Middlesex University Dubai, gave his thoughts on the initiative and what it means for the University.
“I am pleased to announce 2025 as the Year of Community in the UAE. Hand in hand, we will work to strengthen social bonds, foster shared responsibility, and unlock potential for inclusive and sustainable growth. To all those who call UAE home, I encourage you to think ambitiously and act boldly in contributing towards improving your community and ensuring that our nation remains an inspiring model of progress and prosperity” - UAE President His Highness Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan
As we embark on the ‘Year of Community’, we have the opportunity to actively embrace the integral role that higher educational institutions have in fostering community. The UAE Year of Community announced today by His Highness Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, resonates with the very essence of our mission at Middlesex University Dubai and with my own academic journey on a personal level.
From the outset of my time in academics earning a PhD in Community Resource and Development at Arizona State University in 2010, I have been deeply invested in understanding and developing the frameworks that support sustainable and healthy communities. One of the first classes I had the privilege to teach at Arizona State University was titled 'Sustainable Communities,' where our core learning outcome for students was that healthy, resilient, and sustainable communities are built on the foundation of shared responsibility and the cultivation of both bridging and bonding social capital, enriched by innovative approaches to social, economic, and environmental development.
Since relocating to Dubai in 2010, I have had the privilege to be member of the Middlesex University Dubai community, now celebrating over two decades of educational excellence in the UAE. As the largest UK university in the region, we host a vibrant community of over 6,300 students from 120+ nationalities, embodying a microcosm of global diversity and intercultural synergy.
Our commitment as a transformative educational community is driven by our fundamental purpose to turn knowledge into action for a fairer, more sustainable, and prosperous society. Guided by our 2031 strategy, we focus on providing excellent, supportive, and multidisciplinary higher education with a global outlook. Today's announcement of the UAE's Year of Community and the encouraging call for action provides a welcome opportunity for us to spotlight our mission and strategic alignment with the UAE's Vision 2031 and the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals, and our commitment to transforming the futures of our students and the communities we serve. Through our efforts, we aim to cultivate academic excellence and sustainable growth, while empowering our students for career success, lifelong learning, and leadership.
Middlesex University Dubai's commitment to innovation and community engagement is further embodied in our MDX Knowledge Enterprises, which include diverse centres of excellence such as the Institute for Sustainable Development, MDX Innovation Hub, the Centre for Innovation in Human Experience, the Centre for Supply Chain Excellence, JURIS Centre of Excellence for Legal Education and Training, and the Social Psychology Research Lab, each of which play a pivotal role in advancing research and implementing practical solutions to unlock potential for inclusive and sustainable growth.
In the spirit of going forward 'hand in hand,' Middlesex University Dubai commits to answer the call to “to think ambitiously and act boldly” during the UAE Year of Community by leveraging our diverse academic resources and research capabilities. We will continue to foster an environment where every student and faculty member is an active participant in building inclusive, resilient, and sustainable communities.
As we embark on this momentous year, let us rededicate ourselves to the vision of a community that is not only educated and innovative but also deeply interconnected and supportive of one another. Together, we can make the Year of Community a landmark in our continued journey towards shared excellence, sustainable growth, and social well-being.
