April 12, 2016,  

Today saw the opening of the 2016 Energy and Water in the Gulf Cooperation Council workshop (EWGCC); the first of its kind in the region.

The workshop has been organized by the American University of Ras Al Khaimah (AURAK) in collaboration with Hochschule Ostwestfalen-Lippe, a university of applied sciences based in Germany.  The workshop is also supported by German Research Foundation (DFG).

The three-day event sees invited researchers from Germany and the UAE presenting their research in a number of areas, such as the potential of renewable energy in the GCC and energy source diversification.

This morning’s opening ceremony featured a speech from Professor Hassan Hamdan Al Alkim, President of AURAK, who stressed that the workshop provides a necessary platform, enabling discussion of key scientific issues such as promotion of sustainable development.  He also praised the workshop as it supports efforts in developing solutions which address energy and water scarcity challenges, in order to preserve the planet.

Praising the workshop’s initiative, Professor Al Alkim stated, “This effort will help our researchers and faculty members to exchange ideas and thoughts with their German counterparts, and will hopefully open the door for even stronger and thorough cooperation between UAE and German academic and research institutes.”

Vice President of Hochschule Ostwestfalen-Lippe, Professor Burkhard Wrenger, also gave an opening address, thanking the AURAK for its role in organizing the workshop.  Following the opening ceremony, Professor Wrenger also took part in the keynote speaker session, presenting his findings on ‘Environmental Monitoring and Wind Energy Investigations by Drones’.

Throughout the day, a number of research papers were presented.  Professor Mousa Mohsen, Dean of the AURAK School of Engineering, also participated in the keynote session, discussing AURAK’s collaboration with Ras Al Khaimah Research and Innovation Center, a research facility based in Jazeera Al Hamra, in his paper ‘Recent Research Advances in RAK Research and Innovation Center’.