American University of Technology Awards Honorary Doctorate of Humane Letters to Dr. Abu-Ghazaleh

BEIRUT – The President of the American University of Technology (AUT), Dr. Ghada Hinain, has declared the University’s decision to award  an Honorary Doctorate of Humane Letters (Doctorate Honoris Causa) to HE Dr. Talal Abu-Ghazaleh, founder and chairman of Talal Abu-Ghazaleh Global (TAG.Global) for his lifetime achievements in the service of humanity in the fields of knowledge and innovation.  

The awarding occurred during the commencement ceremony of 250 graduates in the presence of MP Simon Abi Ramia, representative of Lebanese President Michel Aoun, Speaker of Parliament Nabih Berri and Prime Minister-designate, Najib Mikati.

Dr. Hinain addressed the attendees at the ceremony saying: “We, at the University, have successfully turned crises into points of strength, determination and solid will for a bright life. Today, despite the current crisis in Lebanon, and the repercussions of the coronavirus pandemic, political and economic clashes, regionally and internationally, we have our youth who managed to combine science and technology with national values and ethics.”

She added that the youth of Lebanon are the real fortune, identity, civilization and legacy, noting that Lebanon is different from other countries, and the world is in dire need of our country, Lebanon.

For his turn Dr. Abu-Ghazaleh expressed his gratitude and appreciation for the honoring of the Doctorate Degree. He addressed the graduates and briefed them on his life story since his displacement from Palestine and his refuge in Lebanon, and the suffering he passed through which constituted the main motive for excellence and success in building the Talal Abu-Ghazaleh Global, the global organization for professional services, education and tech product, operating in more than 100 offices around the world.

Dr. Abu-Ghazaleh, further, called on graduates to embrace innovation and inventions in the field of knowledge which is considered the key to overcoming all crises, noting that innovation is not restricted to anyone, and a single inventor could be the savior of a whole nation.

In this context, Dr. Abu-Ghazaleh cited the examples of Google, Amazon and Facebook, saying that the budget of each one of them equals the budgets of all Arab countries combined, explaining that these corporations are purely knowledge inventions and computer programming software.

“My deep belief in the importance of invention and innovation guided me to establish the first of its kind university in the world, the Talal Abu-Ghazaleh University College for Innovation (TAGUCI), which graduates students based on presenting an invention, not just passing examinations.”

At the end of the ceremony, Dr. Abu-Ghazaleh presented technological devices, manufactured by Talal Abu-Ghazaleh for Technology, a member firm of TAG.Global, to outstanding graduates.

A host of Lebanese dignitaries attended the ceremony including, Eparch of the Maronite Catholic Eparchy of Byblos, Michel Aoun; representative ofMaronite Patriarch Bechara Boutros, MP Salim Sayegh; representative of Leader of the Lebanese Kataeb Party, Samy Gemayel, MP Ziad Hawat; representative of leader of the Lebanese Forces party, Samir Geagea, former MP Edy Maalouf; representative of the leader of the Free Patriotic Movement, Gebran Bassil and Rebecca El Hosry; representative of the leader of the Marada Movement, Sleiman Frangieh. That is in addition to MPs dib Abdel Massih, Walid Baarini, George Atallah, and Taha Naji, representing MPs Strida Geagea and Ashraf Rifi, Mufti of Byblos Sheikh Ghassan Al-Lakis, 
Head of Editors' Syndicate Joseph Al-Kosseifi, President of North Lebanon's Bar Association, Mary-Therese Kawwal, MENA EdTech Alliance President, Dr. Rabie Baalbaki, and Vice-President of the Alliance for International Partnerships and Relations Coordinator, Ms. Nora Al-Murabi, Acting Mayor of Jbeil, Ms. Natalie Marai El Khoury, and Head of the Jubail District Mayors' Association, Mr. Michel Gibran, as well as a host of mayors and mukhtars. That is in addition to the Ambassador of Antigua and Barbuda, HE Mr. Hanna Akar, Palestinian Ambassador to Lebanon, HE Mr. Ashraf Dabbour, represented by Mr. Mustapha Abu Harb, Chargé d 'affaires of Iraqi Ambassador, Ms. Ban Al-Hoshi, President of the American University of Technology (AUT), Dr. Ghada Saqer Hinain, and members of the AUT Board of Trustees, as well as a number of high-ranking personalities, party representatives and students' parents.