American University of Sharjah (AUS) recently signed an agreement with the Abu Dhabi Urban Planning Council (UPC) to develop the next generation of urban planners. The UPC aims to nurture a talent pool of skilled urban planners by offering internships, setting up student training programs and integrating UPC planning manuals into the syllabus of a number of degree courses.

The agreement was signed by Dr. Björn Kjerfve, Chancellor of American University of Sharjah (AUS), and Abdulla Al Shamsi, Executive Director, Strategic Affairs Sector, UPC.

"We are excited to sign this agreement with Abu Dhabi Urban Planning Council," said Dr. Björn Kjerfve, Chancellor of AUS. "Collaborations such as these serve as important links not only between academia and the public sector but also between our emirates. We look forward to working with ADUPC in a number of areas including research activities, organizing forums and training sessions, as well as providing internship opportunities for our students," he added.

"The UPC is dedicated to improving and expanding the range of Emirati talent in a sector that gives employees the opportunity to shape the future of Abu Dhabi," said Al Shamsi. "These significant agreements not only enable the UPC to select candidates from a wider pool of talent, but also represent considerable support for Abu Dhabi's Emiratization initiative, as part of Vision 2030."

According to the agreement, the UPC's suite of regulations and planning manuals will be included in the curriculum of the Geography and Urban Planning, Planning and Urban Design, and Architectural Engineering courses. Students may also be requested by the UPC to carry out research projects related to urban planning. The UPC will provide annual internship opportunities for students-with the opportunity of securing jobs at the UPC after graduating-as well as the chance to work on some of its key planning and policy projects. The UPC will organize workshops, forums and training courses, exchange spatial and physical data for projects executed by the UPC in order to support academic and research activities, and share equipment, devices, systems and laboratories.