His Highness Sheikh Dr Sultan bin Muhammad Al Qasimi, Supreme Council Member and Ruler of Sharjah, underlined the pivotal role of academic research at the postgraduate level in uncovering truths and expanding knowledge. He stressed that researchers must embody fundamental qualities – a love of learning, a spirit of inquiry, and a constant hunger for the undiscovered – to ensure that their studies contribute meaningful insights, open new intellectual horizons, and benefit scholars worldwide.

This assertion came during His Highness’s meeting on Wednesday morning with the first cohort of doctoral students at Global Studies University (GSU), held in the presence of Sheikha Hoor bint Sultan bin Muhammad Al Qasimi, President of GSU, at the Dr Sultan Al Qasimi Centre in University City. The Ruler of Sharjah congratulated the students on joining GSU, recalling how it began as a project dedicated to African studies before expanding into a global institution housing numerous research institutes focused on regions and continents across the world. He noted that Sharjah has long worked to create an environment conducive to education by hosting universities, higher institutes, and specialised academies across diverse fields. He urged the students to make full use of these resources to advance the founding vision of the university.

During the gathering, His Highness emphasised that serious academic research must be rooted in rigour, depth, and thoughtful debate, with ideas being carefully tested and studied before being committed to writing. Only then, he said, can research be genuinely original, innovative, and of service to society— correcting historical and geographical misconceptions and offering new perspectives.

The Ruler of Sharjah also shared his personal experience of research, recounting the years he spent in libraries, research centres, and universities across the world. He cited in particular his unprecedented study of the Portuguese role in navigation and the Gulf region, which took him many years of patient investigation. Through perseverance and determination, he succeeded in deciphering a wealth of old documents, later publishing them for the first time in a 21-volume encyclopaedia entitled The Portuguese in the Sea of Oman: Events in the Annals from 1497 to 1757.