High-rise buildings will soon use giant wind turbines to generate their own power.
More of these futuristic, energy-efficient designs may grow popular in the UAE as it gets an extra boost to develop local engineering and architectural design talents, said experts.
WS Atkins, designers of the Burj Al Arab and other signature buildings in the Middle East, are now building the fan-blade shaped twin towers of the Bahrain World Trade Centre, which will have giant windmills to generate electricity for common areas, said Keith Clarke, chief executive of Atkins.
Clarke revealed this to Gulf News during a ceremony announcing the endowment for a professorial chair and six postgraduate scholars at the British University in Dubai (BUiD) in the Knowledge Village.
The BUiD's Institute for the Built Environment will help develop the Gulf region's intellectual and technical pool in engineering and construction.
The scholarships, covering 50 per cent of tuition fees, were awarded to six students, three of whom are UAE nationals, who might not otherwise have been able to undertake a masters programme under the Atkins Professorship of the Built Environment programme.
"These endowments and scholarships for qualified UAE nationals and citizens of the region are an investment in the future. The university is the best place to do research," said Clarke.
The UK engineering consultancy, with about 800 staff in seven offices in the Middle East, has a portfolio of architectural icons, including the Jumeirah Beach Hotel and Deira City Centre.
WS Atkins is the first benefactor of a funded professorship at BUiD, a one-year-old institution founded with the help of Rolls-Royce, the Al Maktoum Foundation, the Dubai Development and Investment Authority, the British Business Group and the National Bank of Dubai. BUiD's research-oriented courses are accredited by three top UK universities.
David Lock, registrar and acting chief executive of BUiD, said the scholarships were awarded on merit. Hamdah Bin Kalban, a UAE national working for Dubai e-Government, picked as an Atkins scholar, said: "To be sponsored by a prestigious engineering consultancy like Atkins is both an honour and privilege. "This will go a long way in helping develop the country's pool of research-ers, especially in project management, which is my major."
"The study and improvement of the 'built environment' are central to the quality of life for citizens and expatriates alike. We hope our support for the BUiD will create the next generation of business and technical leaders to serve this region in the engineering and construction sectors," Atkins chairman Ed Wallis said.
Gulf News
