Portrait of a Nation: Amal Al Ghaferi

Amal Al Ghaferi has achieved her childhood dream of being a university professor by becoming the first Emirati faculty member at the Masdar Institute.

Amal Al Ghaferi, 37, from Al Ain, has been working as an assistant professor in materials science and engineering at Masdar Institute since 2010. Ravindranath K / The National

ABU DHABI // Since she was a teenager, Amal Al Ghaferi wanted to be a university professor.

Now, as the first Emirati faculty member at the Masdar Institute, she has achieved that dream.

Ms Al Ghaferi, 37, from Al Ain, has been working as an assistant professor in materials science and engineering at the university since 2010.

After going to school and university in her home city, she decided to head to the US to study for her doctorate.

“It was a big jump for me from Al Ain all the way to Pittsburgh. The cities are so different. It was so difficult to adapt to the new city life,” she said.

“I had never been away from home other than for holidays. So it was tough in the beginning.

“But I told myself, ‘if it is not challenging, you are not learning anything new’.”

To help her acclimatise, her family moved with her to Pittsburgh for the first year.

“My family was very supportive. My parents are aware of the role of education in a person’s life. They joined me in Pittsburgh to help me adapt and ensure I could live independently.

“My mother was a headmistress of a school and she retired to come along. My sister was also with me and she studied English,” she said.

Ms Al Ghaferi spent seven years in the US.

When Ms Al Ghaferi joined Masdar Institute, she was the only Emirati faculty member. She is still the only Emirati woman among the 97 staff on the faculty, although there are now five male compatriots in her team.

At the institute, 44 per cent of the students are women and almost 50 per cent are Emiratis.

“I can see that in the near future there will be many more Emirati women in the field of science and technology in the UAE and I see them taking the lead. Women are the right candidates to do research because they are patient. When they decide to do something, they make sure they do it in the best possible way,” she said. “The female students look at me as a role model and the male students look at me with respect. This encourages them to see their future in a different way.

“I think we are the luckiest nation to have a government that gives the same opportunities to men as well as women.”

She is proud that scientists from around the world are vying to use the facilities at Masdar.

She said: “In the United States, when I used the microscopes, I used to wonder would I be able to use such equipment in UAE? Am I just wasting my time working with state-of- the-art equipment only to stagnate when I go back to the UAE?

“Now, our colleagues from abroad want to come here and do imaging sessions.”

She wants to continue her research and raise her family. She is now the mother of a 10-month-old girl.

“Science and knowledge have no limits,” she said.

Her advice to young Emiratis: “Believe in yourself, be patient and persevere and it will happen. Go after your dreams, either here or abroad. If you do go abroad remember to bring back something home with you.”