The Wellbeing of Society: Individual Solutions, Personalized Medicine, and Environmental Health

Interdisciplinary Lab

Wellbeing is gaining attention across generations as a key priority for healthier societies. Interdisciplinary research offers promising solutions, drawing on insights from sport sciences, education, medicine, sociology, environmental studies, and data science. These advances are helping to prevent communicable and non-communicable diseases, improve digital medicine, and strengthen community health.

This breakthrough forum addresses today’s burning questions on public health which are widely discussed but have not yet been sufficiently researched. To help close the gap, UoS, the University of Khorfakkan (UKF) and AGYA are committed to this field in their research endeavours. This forum opens with keynotes highlighting the latest research findings on health effects of microplastics as well as on artificial intelligence for food security and safety. In subsequent roundtable sessions, renowned experts tackle solutions for health and wellbeing, digital health and telemedicine, and waste-to-wealth strategies for environmental health. The forum concludes with shared results from the roundtable discussions outlining concrete next steps for future partnerships. Designed as a platform for knowledge exchange and networking, the forum emphasizes collaboration across disciplines to translate research into meaningful outcomes for public health.

9:00 – 9:10Welcome Address 
by AGYA Alumni Ambassador for UAE Prof. Dr. Tareq Osaili, University of Sharjah, UAE

 
9:10 – 9:45

Health Effects of Microplastics: Emerging Evidence from Dietary Exposure
Keynote lecture

  • Prof. Dr. Jutta Dierkes, University of Bergen, Norway

Introduced by Prof. Dr. Tareq Osaili, AGYA alumnus, University of Sharjah, UAE
 

9:45 – 10:15

Innovative Public Health Solutions through Interdisciplinary Approaches
Roundtable Discussion

  • Prof. Dr. Mohammed Alkatan, The Public Authority for Applied Education and Training, Kuwait
  • Prof. Dr. Ahmad Amro, Al-Quds University, Palestine
  • Prof. Dr. Abir Jaafar Hussain, University of Sharjah, UAE
  • Prof. Dr. Maha Nasr, United Arab Emirates University, UAE
  • Prof. Dr. Samar Saad Eldeen Azab, Ain Shams University, Egypt
  • Prof. Dr. Dilber Uzun Ozsahin, University of Sharjah, UAE

Moderated by Dr. Alounoud Mohamed Hassan Salman Al Marzouqi, University of Sharjah, UAE
 

10:15 - 10:20

The World Bank’s Approach to Strengthening National Environmental & Social Systems for Enhanced Environmental Health
Connecting Input

10:20 – 10:45

Artificial Intelligence and Food Security: Smart & Sustainable Food Systems for the Arab Region (online)
Keynote Lecture

  • Prof. Dr. Anas Al-Nabulsi, Jordan University of Science and Technology, Jordan

Introduced by Dr. Alounoud Mohamed Hassan Salman Al Marzouqi, University of Sharjah, UAE
 

10:50 – 11:15

From Waste to Wealth: Innovative Solutions in Waste Management
Roundtable Discussion

  • Prof. Dr. Sara Abdel Gaber, AGYA member, Kafrelsheikh University, Egypt
  • Dr. Mohamed Abdellah Qenawy, AGYA member, United Arab Emirates University, UAE
  • Prof. Dr. Majid Al-Busafi, AGYA member, Sultan Qaboos University, Oman
  • Dr. Nadia Alkalbani, University of Sharjah, UAE
  • Prof. Dr. Ziad Jaradat, Jordan University of Science and Technology, Jordan 

Moderated by Prof. Dr. Tareq Osaili, AGYA alumnus, University of Sharjah, UAE
 

11:15 – 11:30

Feedback und Next Steps
Closing Remarks

Moderated by Prof. Dr. Tareq Osaili, University of Sharjah, UAE

The Wellbeing of Society

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Interdisciplinary Labs: Sharing ideas and shifting perspectives for knowledge co-creation

Interdisciplinary Labs are interactive workshops where scholars and students as well as contributors from beyond academia explore real-word problems that require integrated perspectives. The goal is to initiate a creative dialogue across disciplinary and geographical borders along thought-provoking research questions and target-driven case-studies. The labs help navigate the challenges of interdisciplinary collaboration by their inclusive and hands-on environment that invites the participants to share and shift perspectives and to jointly develop innovative approaches towards complex issues. Encouraging curiosity, active participation, and equal contribution, the labs offer an immersive experience to foster new forms of knowledge co-creation and plant the seed for future research collaboration.