Idea & Planning
A bright idea came to light…
The concept of the Academy first began as an initiative that HE Prof. Hamid Al-Naimiy, Chancellor of the University of Sharjah, and Director General of the Academy presented to His Highness Sheikh Dr. Sultan bin Mohammed Al Qasimi, Member of the Supreme Council of the United Arab Emirates, Ruler of Sharjah and Founder of the University of Sharjah. His Highness provided Prof. Hamid the full authority to proceed forward with developing its infrastructure and directed provision of the financial resources necessary. Through negotiating several contracts with international and local companies, specialized in these fields, and providing them with precise calculations of the planets in our solar system, the Sharjah Planetarium was constructed, in addition to several research laboratories and exhibition halls, which form the base of the Academy.
It was a long journey of blueprints and charts, international visits to worldwide planetarium, exhibition centers, and long discussions with engineers and scientists that the Academy went through to come live on May 07, 2015.
It was a vision coming true, an inspiration to revive the Islamic sciences in the United Arab Emirates in general, and in the Emirate of Sharjah in particular. It was a vocational vision to have a scientific jewel for generations to come to enlish in the young Emirati mind the love of science and discovery. It was a road full of challenges and excitement in which His Highness was fully involved in every step. His deep wisdom and directives made it possible to have today a world-class scientific institution that has no equivalent in the world. With its planetarium, space exhibitions, research laboratories, optical and radio observatories, and its academia, the Sharjah Academy for Astronomy, Space Sciences, and technology is now in the front seat of space sciences research, nationally and internationally.
2013
Beginning
SAASST location as it was in September 2013. An empty desertic space. His Highness Sheikh Dr. Sultan bin Muhammad Al Qasimi, early drawings of the planetarium drome.
2013
The Location
HE Prof. Hamid Al-Naimiy, the Chancellor of the University of Sharjah, visiting the location where SAASST is going to be built.
2014
The Location
His Highness Sheikh Dr. Sultan bin Muhammad Al Qasimi, Supreme Council Member, Ruler of Sharjah, and Founder of the University of Sharjah, visit the location.
2014
Ongoing Construction
The ongoing construction of SAASST in 2014 with a site visit from His Highness Sheikh Dr. Sultan bin Muhammad Al Qasimi, Supreme Council Member, Ruler of Sharjah, and Founder of the University of Sharjah.
2014
His Highness Follow-Up
His Highness Sheikh Dr. Sultan bin Muhammad Al Qasimi, Supreme Council Member, Ruler of Sharjah, and Founder of the University of Sharjah, close follow-up and visits of the construction of the Sharjah Academy for Astronomy, Space Sciences and Technology in 2014.
2014
SAASST taking shape in late 2014 and early 2015 with a visit of His Highness Sheikh Dr. Sultan bin Muhammad Al Qasimi, Supreme Council Member, Ruler of Sharjah, and Founder of the University of Sharjah.
2014
On July 24, 2014, His Highness Sheikh Dr. Sultan bin Muhammad Al Qasimi, Supreme Council Member, Ruler of Sharjah, and Founder of the University of Sharjah, visited the site along with His Excellency Prof. Hamid M.K. Al-Naimiy, Chancellor of the University of Sharjah, and several VIPs.
2015
The Opening
