AURAK Hosts Workshop with ADQCC

The American University of Ras Al Khaimah (AURAK), has hosted a collaborative workshop with the Abu Dhabi Quality and Conformity Council (ADQCC), focusing on the importance of natural, outdoor exposure testing, relevant standards and the certification process.

The day-long event took place at RAK Research and Innovation Center (RAKRIC), a branch of AURAK and state-of-the-art research and development center specialized in the development of sustainable system solutions related to solar technology. It was attended by companies specialized in production of high solar reflective index (SRI) paints used for green building projects in UAE.

Prof. Hassan Hamdan Al Alkim, AURAK president, delivered the workshop’s opening remarks, extolling the efforts of both RAKRIC and the ADQCC.

“The vision of our university is to become a leading institution in the region through the impact of our education and research. It gives me great satisfaction to see this level of collaboration, particularly so when it comes in a field with so much potential for development. Renewable energy is the future and I fully believe that the work that we are carrying out in this area will ultimately improve the quality of life in this region and beyond.”

Throughout the day there were a number of presentations focused on testing and certification standards within the UAE. Salem Al Qassimi, director of product conformity at the ADQCC, gave a talk on the council’s product certification department and their activities, while Dr. Simon Miller, a specialist in product conformity at ADQCC, delivered a talk on the regulations and certification affecting high SRI materials.

Ian Edwards, a specialist from Q-Lab Europe, gave a presentation on outdoor natural, accelerated weathering tests conducted at benchmark weathering locations in the U.S. and the challenges to develop such an infrastructure tailored to the environmental conditions of the Gulf.

The workshop also provided an opportunity for RAKRIC director and dean of the School of Engineering at AURAK, Prof. Mousa Mohsen, and senior research and development engineers at RAKRIC, Uday Kumar and Waqar Ullah, to present some of the work currently taking place at the center.

At the conclusion of the session, participants were taken on a tour of the RAKRIC facilities in order to view its test platforms, ranging from solar islands to the water desalination center and green building.