Dubai's future engineering challenges to be confronted today

Coming under the spotlight will be the engineering challenges shaping the sustainable future of Dubai and the United Arab Emirates.

More than 1,000 delegates consisting of industry leaders, engineering professionals, educators and engineering students will provide a stimulating forum to debate industry best practice, solutions to the impending skills shortage and ways in which innovation can overcome the unique challenges facing the region's engineering projects.

HE Sheikh Nahayan Mabarak Al Nahayan, Minister of Higher Education and Scientific Research will deliver the opening address, no doubt impressing upon delegates the role that industry can play in producing world class graduates with the skills to find solutions to tomorrow's engineering challenges.

Also on the conference programme is an impressive line-up of leading industry experts who will be speaking about the specific challenges that they face with their own iconic projects.

Dr Gary Mocke, Coastal & Oceans Manager at Worley Parsons Infrastructure will be explaining the effects of the rapidly changing coastlines of the Middle East and the unique engineering problems they create.

"The scale and nature of coastal developments in the UAE have increased markedly over the last five years. The reclamation of massive offshore island projects are without precedent globally," said Dr Mocke.

In addition, the substantial challenges presented by the construction of Dubai's $4.5bn Metro - the most ambitious transportation project in the Middle East, will be presented by Dan Savage, Design Manager for the above-ground stations of the Dubai Metro for Atkins & Partners Overseas.

Elsewhere on the agenda, Angus McFarlane, Technical Director of Hyder Consulting Middle East will present the technical innovation necessary to complete the tallest building in the world: The Burj Dubai tower.

Two further topics which are bound to motivate healthy debate will be 'Women in Engineering - Challenges of the 21st Century' to be presented by Engineer Nazek Hussain Al Sabbagh, and 'Investing in Innovation: Bringing together Technology & Investors in The Clean Tech Space', a presentation which will be made by another female engineer, Andrea Gysin.

Dr Philip Hicks, Director, Dubai Men's College, commented, "With so many unique engineering projects going on all around us both in Dubai and in the UAE as a whole, it is imperative that higher educational institutions such as the Higher Colleges of Technology produce suitably trained and highly-qualified graduates who are adequately prepared to cope with the challenges that will face them in the workplace. The skills needed to complete these innovative projects are in short supply and the only effective way to address that issue is through education with industry taking an important partnership role".

Underscoring the importance of forging commercial and academic links between educational institutions and industry, Dubai Engineering Challenges 2008 is receiving widespread industry support.

Key sponsors include Emaar Industries & Investments, Khansaheb Civil Engineering, ESR Technology, Otis, UNIMIX, Hyder Consulting Middle East, Mouchel and China State Construction Engineering Corp Middle East.

The conference is being held in association with the Society of Engineers - UAE, and in partnership with ITP Publishing Group for media and StudioArt for creative production.

Running in conjunction with the conference will be the inauguration of the HCT Centre of Engineering Excellence, the Dubai Engineering Challenges exhibition, and the Alfred Nobel: Networks of Innovation travelling museum.