Purpose

The strategic partnerships officeserves as the university’s central platform to provide oversight, strategic guidance, and institutional coordination for the development, evaluation, and sustainability of strategic partnerships with external stakeholders, including industry partners, and government and private sector bodies.

Mission

The office ensures alignment of partnership activities with the university’s mission, vision, strategic plan, and delivers measurable value to students, faculty, research, innovation, and society. The Strategic Partnership Office enables long-term, high-value partnerships that support academic excellence, applied research and innovation, graduate employability, and societal and economic impact. Its core mandate is to develop, sustain, and maximize the impact of strategic collaborations across academic, research, industry, government, and societal domains in alignment with the University’s mission, strategic plan, and the broader vision of the Emirate of Sharjah and the United Arab Emirates.

Vision

The strategic partnerships office vision is to position the university as a trusted strategic partner for industry, government, and international institutions, accelerating research impact, innovation, funding, and talent development.

Strategic Objectives - The key objectives of the strategic partnerships office are:

• Establish High-Impact Strategic Partnerships.
• Provide Support to Mobilize Funding and Co-Investment Opportunities.
• Accelerate Innovation, Technology Transfer, and Commercialization.
• Support Capacity Building and Talent Development
• Enhance Institutional Visibility and Global Positioning.

Role and Responsibilities of the Strategic Partnerships Office:

• Strategic Leadership and Planning
• Partnership Development and Negotiation
• Relationship Management and Coordination
• Research and Innovation Support
• Industry and Employability Engagement
• Monitoring, Evaluation & Reporting

Scope of Activities/Partnerships Pillars - The SPO’s scope encompasses the following types of partnerships:

 

Activities	Description
1. Education and Talent Partnerships	Student internship. Joint curriculum development. Co-designed curricula Sponsorship of student graduation projects. Executive education and professional training Industry-co-supervision of MSc/PhD projects
2.Research, Innovation, Commercial, and Technology Partnerships	Joint research programs, collaborative projects, and Shared funding applications. Innovation hubs Shared labs and testbeds Industry-funded PhDs and postdocs. IP licensing Startup incubation and acceleration Joint ventures and spinoff.
3. Industry and Private Sector Partnerships	Internships Co-op programs Research sponsorships Endowments Entrepreneurship ecosystems.
4. Government and Policy	Strategic cooperation with ministries and government agencies Policy thinks thanks on national priorities. Advisory roles to government
5. Policy and Societal & NGO Impact Partnerships	Capacity-building. Community development. Knowledge-sharing initiatives. White papers and policy briefs Living labs and pilot projects