As part of CIBSE President Kevin Mitchell’s 125 Anniversary year commitment to engage and inspire the next generation and strengthen international ties, he, together with Ruth Carter, CIBSE CEO visited the United Arab Emirates in September.
The five-day visit included a visit to De Montfort University, Dubai, and included a signing of an agreement by President Kevin Mitchell on behalf of CIBSE and Professor Michael Gallimore, Head of Campus, on behalf of the University for the launch of a CIBSE Student Group in De Montfort University Dubai. The agreement is a testament of the mutual commitment of both parties towards the ongoing role building services engineers play in delivering a sustainable, safe and healthy built environment. Accompanying Mitchell and Carter on the visit were CIBSE UAE committee member Marc Lynch and CIBSE YEN UAE representatives Fahim Ahmadi and Mohammed Shamroukh. CIBSE would like to thank the faculty and students of De Montfort University Dubai for their hospitality and look forward to a mutually beneficial partnership.
The trip also saw Mitchell and Carter visit the One Zabeel project site along with CIBSE UAE committee members Mohd Imran Shaikh and Isaac Coker. The site visit encompassed the building services system overview of the One Zabeel and a tour of the building.
A visit to the Manipal Academy of Higher Education, Dubai, provided another opportunity for Mitchell and Carter to engage and inspire the next generation. Kevin and Ruth addressed the students delving into the CIBSE 1-2-5 Challenges: Celebrate, Inspire, Boost, Share and Engage. An agreement was signed by President Kevin Mitchell for CIBSE, and Dr S Sudhindra, Academic President, on Manipal University, for the launch of a CIBSE student group at the University.
The visit concluded with a question and answer session with Kevin and Ruth fielding questions from the inquisitive and curious minds in the audience.
Kevin Mitchell also participated in a UAE panel discussion on the topic Cross-collaboration for Net Zero transition. The discussion included embodied carbon statistics for the region, and a discussion on cross-disciplinary communication at university level and the need to create platforms to promote ideas and interests revolving around sustainable development, and the need to reduce current consumption rates through schemes such as retrofitting.
The full itinerary for the trip, also included visits to Masdar Institute, the Louvre Museum – a building Kevin Mitchell worked on - and a visit to the Jumeirah Gate Hotel, all in Abu Dhabi. As well as a visit to Ramboll Middle East to discuss using the CIBSE Training and Development scheme to attract and qualify more building services engineers.
The trip was organised to coincide with the UAE Awards, which took place on 8 September at the Armani Hotel, Burj Khalifa, Dubai, and was the final event in the President’s and CEO’s visit.
UAE Awards
The annual UAE awards, which this year took place in person at the Armani Hotel, Burj Khalifa, celebrated and showcased the outstanding individuals, companies and projects across the UAE region.
This year’s winners were:
Graduate of the Year
Winner – Suvarna Kumar, Buro Happold
Runner up- Krishna Ajith, Manipal University Dubai
Young Engineer of the Year
Winner- Munis Hameed, Black & White Engineering
Runner Up- Sumith Sunil, AECOM
Manufacturer of the Year
Winner- Grundfos
Runner Up- Trosten
Consultancy of the Year
Winner – Cundall
Runner Up – WSP
Also presented on the night was the Presidents Prize, the CIBSE Undergraduate Award, which was won by Khushbu Mankani of Heriot-Watt University, Dubai