Sustainability Issues in the Arab World: Christoffer Thomson Civil Engineering Environment, Technology, and Economy What I did… I spent two and a half weeks in the rapidly developing Arab region. Through the Education Abroad office here at the University of Maryland I travelled to Dubai, Abu Dhabi, and Doha with the engineering school to take a leadership class and perform my own observations and research. My mission was to observe the Emirati culture towards petroleum vs. more renewable sources of energy along with their overall attitude to finding a more sustainable lifestyle. Once I got there… We spent most of our time sightseeing, observing Arab culture, going on industry visits, or visiting local colleges. I noticed that there was a heavy emphasis on petroleum in education and commerce. This got me thinking about the sustainability issue that emerges when a whole country’s economy is so heavily dependent on a product that is so harmful to the environment. It made me realize that such a young country and its citizens are so impressionable when the government is able to provide so much through one main source of income. The government is very aware of this issue and continues to fund future development and try to educate its citizens. My time spent there… We spent time all around the region including multiple site visits and lectures which included but are not limited too the following: Burj-Khalifa – the tallest building in the world Palm Island – man made islands off the coast of Dubai Masdar Institute – graduate college focused on more sustainable technologies Petroelum Institute – undergraduate college focused on petroleum and engineering Talmiz Ahmed – guest lecture given by former ambassador to UAE and current energy consultant Dubai culture center on Islam Leadership Symposium – 3 day leadership conference with local students All this was supplemented by museum visits, bus tours, and in class time that was full of discussion and case studies. Impact… The massive difference in culture and lifestyle expanded my views and showed me I wasn’t as worldly as I thought. Being born in Sweden, and having traveled the world I thought that I had a pretty good grasp on the world around me. The Arab region, however, was completely different then anything I had ever experienced before. The massive buildings, incredible feats of engineering, and beautiful city layout reinvigorated my passion for civil engineering. As a group we were invited to meet and get a tour from the lead project manager of the Etihad Towers, a grouping of impressive skyscrapers with beautifully designed marble walls and floors as well as floor to ceiling windows. The project manager was so generous and captivating and I could see how proud he was of the buildings he had built. That is the same feeling that I hope to one day feel when I can look up at the building or bridge that I designed and oversaw go from the planning stage all the way to the finished product. The impact of that moment on me was priceless and I can not be more grateful of the opportunity I had to learn about not only the international community of engineers but the region and culture as well. Acknowledgements… I would like to thank both Ramsey Jabaji and Stephanie Chang for their extensive work in making the trip possible. Related Future Work… As a result of my work in the Arab world I am very interested in potentially working abroad at some point in my career. Seeing cities with such rapid development got me really interested in using my civil engineering degree to possibly travel abroad and develop other regions of the world in a similar way. I would like to pursue an internship abroad, which would give me insight on what it is like to work in a different country. Our group with former ambassador Talmiz Ahmed Jabaji, Ramsey (January 3, 2013) Group Photo with Talmiz Ahmed [Photograph] Dubai skyline Thomson, Christoffer (January 2, 2013) Dubai Skyline [Personal Photograph] Our group with local students from petroleum institute Thomson, Christoffer (January 8, 2013) Group with PI students [Personal Photograph] Project manager of Etihad Towers speaking to us about his design Jabaji, Ramsey (January 10, 2013) Group listening to PM [Photograph]