The American University in Dubai (AUD) and Nakheel PJSC signed a Memorandum of Understanding to establish an Industrial Chair Professorship in Sustainable Development. The MoU, which was signed by Dr. Jihad Nader, AUD's Provost and Chief Academic Officer, and Mr. Cedric MacKellar, Nakheel's Executive Director of Human Resources, will recognize the importance of research and education and allow each organization to engage in a variety of research initiatives in the area of infrastructure sustainability. Among the attendees of the signing ceremony were Dr. Alaa Ashmawy, Dean of School of Engineering at AUD, Dr. Tommy Weir, Head of Learning and Development at Nakheel, and Mr. Mohamed Al Suwaidi, Emaritization Manager/ HR for Learning and Development at Nakheel.

 

"AUD extends a warm welcome to Nakheel, one of the leading real estate developers in Dubai, on the occasion of signing this MoU," said Dr. Jihad Nader. "We are looking forward to putting this MoU into effect and implementing this agreement. This MoU summarizes a number of areas for collaboration between us that will generate value, allow both organizations to share expertise, and contribute to the development of Dubai socially as well as economically. Such an exchange is valuable since it will combine the best of our engineers with Nakheel's, align visions, and allow AUD and Nakheel to pursue excellence jointly. I am confident that this agreement is of great significance and value to both organizations."

 

Mr. Cedric MacKellar indicated that it was a combination of hard work from both sides, adding: "We are truly delighted to get into this partnership with AUD. When Nakheel identified the need for this arrangement to take place, we went though a rigorous process to identify our partners, and AUD was apparently the most suitable institution to share our vision with. This is a beginning of a long journey of collaboration between Nakheel and AUD and a wonderful platform for the betterment of both organizations."

 

According to Dr. Alaa Ashmawy, Dean of School of Engineering, a number of AUD students will assist the Chair recipient on this research, and the outcome will be taught to engineering students as part of the AUD curriculum. The main objective of this collaboration between AUD and Nakheel, is to generate new or improved products, processes, and building methods that will lead to better and more efficient practices in support of environmentally, economically and socially sustainable development. The MOU outlines the terms of this partnership, and the anticipated benefits for both AUD and Nakheel. While the Nakheel Chair is intended to supplement an engineering professor at AUD with support mechanisms and research resources, the Chair recipient will also work closely with Nakheel to identify and pursue other topics of interest to the organization, with defined goals and timelines for delivery of findings.