25 March 2009 The School of Engineering at the American University in Dubai (AUD) hosted a delegation from the Young Members Committee (YMC) of the Hong Kong Institution of Engineers (HKIE), as part of their “2009 Overseas Visit to Dubai - Engineering Miracles”.

Their visit to AUD was coordinated by Dr. Dima Jawad, Assistant Professor of Civil Engineering and Nakheel Chair in Sustainable Infrastructure, with the participation of Dr. Elias Saqan, Chair of Civil Engineering at AUD.

Dr. Jawad commented on the meeting, saying that welcoming the YMC delegation from the HKIE “is part of our social and ethical responsibility as individuals and team members at the School of Engineering at AUD. The innovative technologies adopted in Dubai’s construction projects are inspiring to anyone in the field and we are proud to be able to present them and share our expertise with these young engineers”.

Sixteen delegates from different engineering disciplines and industries from Hong Kong, together with several senior members from HKIE, visited Dubai with the aim to enrich their young engineers’ knowledge through exposure to megaprojects around the world.

“Our main objective is to acquire new experience and global exposure to innovation through Dubai projects, with particular focus on investigating the state policies towards town planning, infrastructure developments as well as new technologies and practices adopted in complex engineering projects” , explained Mr. Eric Cheng, Overseas Liaison Officer, Dubai Delegation Programme, HKIE-YMC 2008-2009.

The Hong Institution of Engineers’ Young Members Committee (YMC) is one of the busiest and largest committees under HKIE. It oversees the interest of 8,000 members of the Institution who are under the age of 35. Since 1991 YMC has been organizing delegations to different countries of the world aimed at enriching young engineers’ knowledge around the world.