The Near East University and the University of Sharjah will apply the artificial intelligence-supported “Multi-Criteria Decision Making” method to the field of health with the four joint projects they have initiated. The two universities will also work together to develop innovative AI-powered technologies for breast cancer and asthma diseases. Another of the joint projects will focus on developing new technologies for smart sustainable cities.
Near East University, which signed a cooperation protocol to cooperate in academic and research fields in July 2022, and the University of Sharjah, one of the important universities of the United Arab Emirates, started four joint projects. The protocol, which entered into force with the signatures of Near East University Acting Rector Prof. Tamer Şanlıdağ and Sharjah University Vice Rector Prof. Dr. Maamar Bettayeb in charge of Research and Postgraduate Studies, gave its first fruits.
The use of artificial intelligence in the field of health will become widespread
The first of the projects carried out between the two universities will carry the experience gained by the Near East University to the international arena through the Health Operations Centre, which was opened as the first center in the world to apply the artificial intelligence-supported “Multi-Criteria Decision Making” model to health processes. The “Operational Research in Healthcare and Integrated Artificial Intelligence Research Group”, established between the Near East University and the University of Sharjah, will carry out projects that will be used in many areas from determining treatment processes to increasing hospital efficiency by making use of artificial intelligence and big data.
The second project aims to develop artificial intelligence supported diagnostic methods in Invasive Ductal Carcinoma, which is one of the most common causes of breast cancer, that is, in the type of cancer that forms in the milk ducts and overflows. Through a portal to be developed, this project, which aims to detect breast cancer early by using multi-criteria decision-making method and artificial intelligence, will provide opportunities such as real-time monitoring, diagnosis of cancerous tissue before it overflows and spreads to neighboring tissues. In the projects carried out by Near East University Health Operations Center Director Assoc. Prof. Dr. Dilber Uzun Özşahin, Prof. Dr. Tamer Şanlıdağ, Assoc. Prof. Dr. İlker Özşahin, Assist. Prof. Dr. Berna Uzun, Dr. Mustapha Taiwo and Dr. Abdullahi Usman will take place as researchers.
Another project that Near East University Health Operations Center Director Assoc. Prof. Dr. Dilber Uzun Özşahin works with her colleagues at the University of Sharjah aims to develop an artificial intelligence-assisted prediction technology by monitoring the attacks experienced by asthma patients. The project aims to save time for emergency intervention by evaluating the results obtained from imaging technologies such as thermal imaging and electrocardiogram (ECG) with the support of artificial intelligence.
New technologies will be developed for smart sustainable cities
Cities today are getting bigger, connected and more innovative as they witness rapid growth, population growth and the fourth industrial revolution. The fourth of the joint projects of the Near East University and the University of Sharjah focuses on developing the technologies needed by smart sustainable cities.
The work group, which focuses on developing technologies that will increase the quality of life, efficiency and competitiveness of urban operations and services with information and communication technologies, includes Near East University and Sharjah University, as well as Qatar University and Athens Harokopio University. The research group will conduct interdisciplinary research to develop technologies in the fields of artificial intelligence, internet of things, cybersecurity, smart mobility, transportation systems and sustainability.
Prof. Dr. İrfan Suat Günsel: “With our research and product development capabilities, we transform the knowledge we produce into a product and bring it to humanity.”
Emphasizing the “research university” vision they adopted, Near East University Chairman of the Board of Trustees Prof. Dr. İrfan Suat Günsel said, “We transform the knowledge we produce into a product with our research and product development capabilities and bring it to humanity.” Reminding that they are rated among the best universities in the world by many international higher education rating institutions, Prof. Dr. Günsel said, “We are spreading this vision of the Near East University to the world with more than 150 international collaborations we have developed. Our new research projects, which emerged with the cooperation protocol we signed with the University of Sharjah, are among the best examples of this.”
Stating that GÜNSEL, the domestic car of the TRNC, of which research and development processes were completed on the Near East University campus, PCR kits developed and put into use during the pandemic, hospital-type and mobile respirators, smart t-shirts capable of ECG measurements, and many other projects developed by the Near East University came to life with the vision of “research university”, Prof. Dr. İrfan Suat Günsel said, “Artificial intelligence technologies are one of the areas we focus on. We will continue to make significant contributions to the world of the future by turning many artificial intelligence-supported projects that we are working on in the fields of health and smart city technologies into products.”
Prof. Dr. Tamer Şanlıdağ: “We agreed with the University of Sharjah to establish a PCR Kit Production Laboratory in the United Arab Emirates similar to the one we established on the Near East University campus.”
Reminding that they signed an academic cooperation protocol with Sharjah University, one of the important universities of the United Arab Emirates, in July, Near East University Acting Rector Prof. Dr. Tamer Şanlıdağ said, “The cooperation protocol we signed with the four joint projects we have realized has given its first fruits.”
Stating that he went to the United Arab Emirates in September and visited the University of Sharjah, Prof. Dr. Şanlıdağ said, “In the meetings, we held with the management of Sharjah University, we agreed to establish a PCR Kit Production Laboratory similar to the one we established on the Near East University campus in the United Arab Emirates.” Prof. Dr. Şanlıdağ also said that student, scientific resource, researcher, and faculty member exchange programs will be carried out between the two universities.