Young Emirati future energy leaders seek climate change solutions in Germany

Ten young leaders visited German companies that tackle climate change to help “inspire and empower” Emiratis working in the industry.

The Young Future Energy Leaders on a visit to the Siemens headquarters in Munich, Germany. Courtesy: Basf

The Young Future Energy Leaders have visited German companies that tackle climate change to help “inspire and empower” young Emiratis working in the industry.

Two Masdar Institute faculty members and 10 young leaders, eight of whom are Emiratis, visited the BASF factory at Siemens headquarters and met the chief executive of Bilfinger on the trip this month.

Sixty-five people competed for a place on the trip by answering questions about the companies and waste energy. The best 10 were chosen.

“It was fascinating,” said Faisal Alobeidli, 25, a power engineer from Abu Dhabi. “We needed to take a bus to go around the factory and then they gave us some lectures about waste energy from people who have worked in it, giving us some ideas and explaining what they are doing in BASF.”

Emirati Noora Nasser, 22, from Dubai, said the group learnt about technology that could be applied in the UAE.

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“This is one of the reasons I went there, so I could actually learn about those technologies so we could leverage them here in my home country,” said Ms Nasser, an electrical engineering graduate.

Ahlam Al Hammadi is the young leaders’ programme officer at Khalifa University of Science and Technology. She said the year-long programme was designed to engage and inspire young people through networking events and workshops.

“They learnt different things from the three companies,” Ms Al Hammadi said. “In Bilfinger they looked at the world’s biggest challenges in providing clean water and energy efficiency and they saw how Bilfinger is applying technologies to reduce energy consumption.”

At the Siemens headquarters, the young leaders met sustainability experts and visited its technology laboratories to learn more about how digitalisation is shaping the future of energy.

“Our energy systems are becoming increasingly complex and we believe the UAE’s future scientists, engineers and innovators should have access to knowledge and technology, giving them the tools they need to build a sustainable energy future,” said Dietmar Siersdorfer, chief executive of Siemens Middle East and UAE.

“We must inspire young minds and encourage them to think about how innovation in technology can address the challenges our world faces.”