DUBAI: The 25th Gulf Engineering Forum (GEF), held under the patronage of Sheikh Rashid bin Hamdan bin Rashid Al Maktoum, the Supreme President of the Hamdan bin Rashid Al Maktoum Foundation for Medical and Educational Sciences, concluded its two-day proceedings with great success on February 8, 2024, at the at the prestigious Al Ras Ballroom, InterContinental Dubai Festival City.
Organized by the UAE Society of Engineers in collaboration with the Gulf Engineering Union, under the overarching theme, “Smart Engineering for a Sustainable Future,” the forum successfully brought together 800+ industry leaders, decision-makers, academics, researchers, and experts in engineering from across the Gulf region.
Eng. Abdullah Yousuf Al Ali, President of the UAE Society of Engineers, expressed his pride and happiness at the remarkable success achieved by the 25th edition of the Gulf Engineering Forum, saying: “Talking about smart engineering necessarily involves discussing the journey of the United Arab Emirates, which has a rich record of achievements in the field of sustainability. UAE has done wonders by adopting and implementing many initiatives and strategies that take collective action as an approach towards achieving a sustainable future in various fields and sectors. The forum has succeeded in creating an ideal platform that brings stakeholders together, contributes to enhancing meaningful discussions, collaborative work, and exchanging innovative ideas, experiences, and expertise, reflecting the development of the engineering sector and improving the quality of life in the Gulf society.”
He also expressed his gratitude and appreciation to all participants, speakers, sponsors, and exhibitors for their invaluable support, which directly contributed to the success of this year’s forum.
Over the course of two days, the forum featured keynote speeches from prominent industry figures, honoring Gulf engineering pioneers, heads of engineering bodies, and winners of the 25th Gulf Engineering Forum awards for projects, along with sponsors and members of the organizing and scientific committees, in addition to insightful presentations and discussion sessions.
A memorandum of understanding was signed between the Female Engineers’ Committee in the UAE Society of Engineers and the Society of Women Engineers of Saudi Arabia to enhance cooperation, joint work, and exchange of knowledge and experiences contributing to the development of engineering work.
Khodr Aldah, General Director, Engineering Contracting Company (ECC) said: “ECC has been a proud member of the Society of Engineers since its inception. Our longstanding partnership with the Society of Engineers reflects mutual trust and a shared commitment to advancing innovative solutions. Together, we embrace the future, guided by our collective dedication to sustainable engineering excellence.”
On its second day, the forum discussed the themes of Robotics and Smart Systems, and Cybersecurity in Engineering Systems, through a keynote speech by Dr. Abdulla Al Zarouni from RIT Dubai, where he reviewed the UAE’s journey towards zero emissions: initiatives, projects, and technology usage.
Dr. Hoda Al Khzaimi from New York University Abu Dhabi discussed the impact of emerging technologies such as artificial intelligence, machine learning, blockchain, and quantum computing on cybersecurity. She also highlighted the misuse of artificial intelligence at times to launch complex attacks.
Dr. Adel Abdel Moneim, an international expert in information security from Egypt, delivered a comprehensive keynote speech on cybersecurity in engineering systems, highlighting the strategies and critical measures to protect technological infrastructure and emphasizing the importance of vigilance in confronting evolving cyber threats.
Engineer Rashad Bukhash, Chairman of the Organizing Committee of the Forum, moderated a dialogue session titled “Data Analysis,” in which Marwan Alghazal and Hassan Al Maazmi from the Government of Sharjah Department of Housing, Abdulaziz Al Motairi from Saudi Arabia, and Merpati Chandrasari from Dubai Municipality participated. The session addressed the main factors causing construction project delays, the use of remote sensing technologies to assess the impact of climate change, and the use of advanced geographic information systems technologies to map flood-prone areas.
Dataflow Services, one of the forum’s silver sponsors, presented a session on developing a unified digital framework to leverage the latest technologies to simplify the process of equivalency of educational certificates completely through a secure and global platform, facilitating the equivalency of educational certificates process and setting a unified professional standard for engineering qualifications.
On the second day, a diverse range of presentations were delivered, including the impact of emerging technologies and artificial intelligence on cybersecurity, protecting the future of infrastructure and robotics, bioengineering, the approach to solar energy storage using artificial intelligence, and nanofluids as heat transfer fluids, and finally a study on enhancing fault tolerance in photovoltaic systems linked to the grid.
Other presentations covered topics, including the impact of emerging technologies and AI on cybersecurity, safeguarding the future of infrastructure through robotics and bioengineering, developing secure wireless communication systems, exploring risk terminology in AI applications like ChatGPT, and reorienting awareness to sustainable humanity realms by integrating educational strategies in indoor spaces, with insightful case studies from Sharjah and Ajman.
Apart from the discussions and networking, there was an accompanying exhibition for public and private institutions and companies to showcase their projects, research, services, and products. The platform also facilitated the signing of Memorandums of Understanding and bilateral meetings with participating delegations.
The 25th Gulf Engineering Forum not only showcased the latest advancements in engineering but also paved the way for collaborative efforts towards a sustainable and innovative future.
