ABU DHABI // Emirati women’s empowerment has been taken to a nuclear level. Take Fatma Al Muhairi for example.
Ms Al Muhairi began her career in the nuclear industry with a clear aim — to get as many Emiratis as possible to join her.
This was not as easy as the mechanical engineer from Khalifa University first thought, in an industry that was then considered a peculiar choice for women.
“My family was scared at first because they wanted to know if it was safe and secure,” said Ms Al Muhairi, 23, from Abu Dhabi. “They wanted to know if it was OK for a woman to work here.
“But I explained to them that it was. I am not the only woman here so they accepted it and they support me.”
Ms Al Muhairi is one of nine nuclear engineers recently hired by the Federal Authority for Nuclear Regulation, or Fanr, which is lifting its recruitment of Emirati staff.
She and her female colleagues have taken part in a 14-week course at Khalifa University to learn about nuclear safety, security, safeguards and radioactivity.
They then rotate through each of Fanr’s departments to see which suits them best.
Today, 61 per cent of Fanr’s staff is Emirati, compared with 48 per cent six years ago. More than half of them are women.
Thirty-six of the 80 jobs held by Emiratis in the operations division are held by women, and that’s just a start.
“We don’t have a lot of locals so I’m going to help more of them to join and teach them, because no one will stay forever,” Ms Al Muhairi said.
“I think nuclear energy is the future. It’s interesting and something we have to learn because we might depend on it in the future.”
She hopes to work in the safety section.
“I’m interested in inspecting and I think I have got the skills that are needed in this field.
“As an inspector I have to be aware and notice details, ensure everything is going right and make sure everything is safe, from employees to the environment to the public.”
Amal bin Lootah, 23, a civil engineer from Dubai, said the national importance of the nuclear sector meant more Emiratis were needed.
“I went to South Korea as part of a youth ambassador programme, which made me interested in the nuclear industry,” Ms bin Lootah said. “When you study it, you realise that nuclear is safe and you get more radiation when you travel on a plane. But people get scared.”
Huda Al Tamimi, a mechanical engineer from Ras Al Khaimah who is also 23, said: “We are here to serve our country. I got the chance, so why not?
“Fanr has the vision I am looking for, which is protecting the environment and people from radioactive material and the threat from any nuclear misuse.
“We’re still not operating but I’m very excited to be a part of it because it’s my role to clear up the messed-up ideas about nuclear to the public.”
For Amal Al Saleem, 24, a mechanical engineer from Abu Dhabi who did her internship at Airbus in Toulouse, France, the responsibility is the most challenging aspect of the nuclear industry.
“My goal was always to find a place for myself to be a part of the UAE’s development,” Ms Al Saleem said. “I don’t want to be useless to the country and the nuclear industry will definitely be needing national engineers, which is what motivated me to join Fanr.”
“My favourite would be safety because I’m interested in ensuring the safety of our programme,” Ms Al Saleem said. “I want to deal with regulation of the power plant, which means we’re supposed to inspect, not interfere.”
With 21 fellows, including 16 from Fanr, two from the Emirates Nuclear Energy Corporation and three from the Critical Infrastructure and Coastal Protection Authority, the course was taught by different instructors from the US and Khalifa University.
“It’s for the young workforce of the nuclear industry,” said Dr Alexander Solodov, the university’s assistant professor in nuclear engineering. “Our goal is to give them a broad outlook of what nuclear is, its purpose and the understanding of the importance of safety, security and safeguards.”
cmalek@thenational.ae
KILLING OF QASSEM SULEIMANI
Killing of Qassem Suleimani
Notable salonnières of the Middle East through history
Al Khasan (Okaz, Saudi Arabia)
Tamadir bint Amr Al Harith, known simply as Al Khasan, was a poet from Najd famed for elegies, earning great renown for the eulogy of her brothers Mu’awiyah and Sakhr, both killed in tribal wars. Although not a salonnière, this prestigious 7th century poet fostered a culture of literary criticism and could be found standing in the souq of Okaz and reciting her poetry, publicly pronouncing her views and inviting others to join in the debate on scholarship. She later converted to Islam.
Maryana Marrash (Aleppo)
A poet and writer, Marrash helped revive the tradition of the salon and was an active part of the Nadha movement, or Arab Renaissance. Born to an established family in Aleppo in Ottoman Syria in 1848, Marrash was educated at missionary schools in Aleppo and Beirut at a time when many women did not receive an education. After touring Europe, she began to host salons where writers played chess and cards, competed in the art of poetry, and discussed literature and politics. An accomplished singer and canon player, music and dancing were a part of these evenings.
Princess Nazil Fadil (Cairo)
Princess Nazil Fadil gathered religious, literary and political elite together at her Cairo palace, although she stopped short of inviting women. The princess, a niece of Khedive Ismail, believed that Egypt’s situation could only be solved through education and she donated her own property to help fund the first modern Egyptian University in Cairo.
Mayy Ziyadah (Cairo)
Ziyadah was the first to entertain both men and women at her Cairo salon, founded in 1913. The writer, poet, public speaker and critic, her writing explored language, religious identity, language, nationalism and hierarchy. Born in Nazareth, Palestine, to a Lebanese father and Palestinian mother, her salon was open to different social classes and earned comparisons with souq of where Al Khansa herself once recited.
Plan to boost public schools
A major shake-up of government-run schools was rolled out across the country in 2017. Known as the Emirati School Model, it placed more emphasis on maths and science while also adding practical skills to the curriculum.
It was accompanied by the promise of a Dh5 billion investment, over six years, to pay for state-of-the-art infrastructure improvements.
Aspects of the school model will be extended to international private schools, the education minister has previously suggested.
Recent developments have also included the introduction of moral education - which public and private schools both must teach - along with reform of the exams system and tougher teacher licensing requirements.
Mercer, the investment consulting arm of US services company Marsh & McLennan, expects its wealth division to at least double its assets under management (AUM) in the Middle East as wealth in the region continues to grow despite economic headwinds, a company official said.
Mercer Wealth, which globally has $160 billion in AUM, plans to boost its AUM in the region to $2-$3bn in the next 2-3 years from the present $1bn, said Yasir AbuShaban, a Dubai-based principal with Mercer Wealth.
“Within the next two to three years, we are looking at reaching $2 to $3 billion as a conservative estimate and we do see an opportunity to do so,” said Mr AbuShaban.
Mercer does not directly make investments, but allocates clients’ money they have discretion to, to professional asset managers. They also provide advice to clients.
“We have buying power. We can negotiate on their (client’s) behalf with asset managers to provide them lower fees than they otherwise would have to get on their own,” he added.
Mercer Wealth’s clients include sovereign wealth funds, family offices, and insurance companies among others.
From its office in Dubai, Mercer also looks after Africa, India and Turkey, where they also see opportunity for growth.
Wealth creation in Middle East and Africa (MEA) grew 8.5 per cent to $8.1 trillion last year from $7.5tn in 2015, higher than last year’s global average of 6 per cent and the second-highest growth in a region after Asia-Pacific which grew 9.9 per cent, according to consultancy Boston Consulting Group (BCG). In the region, where wealth grew just 1.9 per cent in 2015 compared with 2014, a pickup in oil prices has helped in wealth generation.
BCG is forecasting MEA wealth will rise to $12tn by 2021, growing at an annual average of 8 per cent.
Drivers of wealth generation in the region will be split evenly between new wealth creation and growth of performance of existing assets, according to BCG.
Another general trend in the region is clients’ looking for a comprehensive approach to investing, according to Mr AbuShaban.
“Institutional investors or some of the families are seeing a slowdown in the available capital they have to invest and in that sense they are looking at optimizing the way they manage their portfolios and making sure they are not investing haphazardly and different parts of their investment are working together,” said Mr AbuShaban.
Some clients also have a higher appetite for risk, given the low interest-rate environment that does not provide enough yield for some institutional investors. These clients are keen to invest in illiquid assets, such as private equity and infrastructure.
“What we have seen is a desire for higher returns in what has been a low-return environment specifically in various fixed income or bonds,” he said.
“In this environment, we have seen a de facto increase in the risk that clients are taking in things like illiquid investments, private equity investments, infrastructure and private debt, those kind of investments were higher illiquidity results in incrementally higher returns.”
The Abu Dhabi Investment Authority, one of the largest sovereign wealth funds, said in its 2016 report that has gradually increased its exposure in direct private equity and private credit transactions, mainly in Asian markets and especially in China and India. The authority’s private equity department focused on structured equities owing to “their defensive characteristics.”
Key facilities
- Olympic-size swimming pool with a split bulkhead for multi-use configurations, including water polo and 50m/25m training lanes
- Premier League-standard football pitch
- 400m Olympic running track
- NBA-spec basketball court with auditorium
- 600-seat auditorium
- Spaces for historical and cultural exploration
- An elevated football field that doubles as a helipad
- Specialist robotics and science laboratories
- AR and VR-enabled learning centres
- Disruption Lab and Research Centre for developing entrepreneurial skills