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HCT-Dubai Men’s hosts five thematic conferences under theme of Global Challenges in Engineering & Technology
DUBAI: The Higher Colleges of Technology (HCT), the UAE’s largest applied higher education institution, hosted the Advances in Science and Engineering Technology (ASET 2018) multi-conferences, held from February 6-7, 2018 at the HCT-Dubai Men’s campus.
ASET 2018, sponsored by the IEEE, saw the HCT hosting five (5) specialized international Engineering conferences under the overarching theme of Global Challenges in Engineering and Technology, over two days.
The unique multi-conference format showcased cutting-edge research areas that are of high interest to both the academic and the industrial communities, in the UAE and abroad. The five conferences covered the diverse fields of:
· Sustainable Environment and Urban Infrastructure
· Renewable and Sustainable Energy
· Aviation and Space Technology
· The Internet of Things, Mechatronics and their Applications,
· Advanced Materials, Design and Manufacturing
The five conferences were interactive forums, providing engineers and managers from industry with the opportunity to meet with academics and discuss new high-tech trends and their effects on the technical development of the region. Conference delegates saw more than 150 engineering researchers and faculty, from over 20 countries, present their state-of-the-art research topics in the different engineering disciplines and technology.
Moreover, the following six world-renown keynote speakers, from tier-one universities, discussed in-depth the latest developments and exposed the frontiers of R&D in engineering and technology:
· Professor Oussama Khatib, Stanford University, USA
· Professor Witold Pedrycz, IEEE Fellow, Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering University of Alberta, Canada
· Dr. Bruce Berdanier, Dean of the School of Engineering at Fairfield University, Connecticut, USA
· Professor Akhtar Kalam, School of Engineering and Science Victoria University, Melbourne Victoria, Australia
· Professor Wesley Cantwell, Director, Aerospace Research and Innovation Center (ARIC), Associate Dean for Research, Department of Aerospace Engineering, Khalifa University, UAE
· Professor Federico Paris Carballo, University of Seville Camino de Los Descubrimientos, Seville, Spain.
Dr Abdullatif Al Shamsi, Vice Chancellor of the Higher Colleges of Technology, said ASET 2018 was a wonderful opportunity to showcase engineering excellence at the HCT and across region. “The five conferences, covering a wide cross-section of fields, reflect the great importance that the HCT places on research endeavours in order to assist the future growth of the United Arab Emirates,” Dr Al Shamsi said.
The Vice Chancellor added that ASET 2018 was a strong manifestation of the HCT 2.0 initiative, which supports the UAE leadership’s mandate of promoting a culture of innovation in the UAE. “The ASET 2018 conferences are in line with the National Innovation Strategy of the UAE and represent cutting-edge research in fields that are of great importance locally, regionally and globally,” Dr Al Shamsi said.
“HCT is undertaking a number of initiatives that are linked to the UAE leadership’s priority of Innovation, including the HCT 2.0 hybrid education model, offering innovation and entrepreneurship courses at our campuses, developing campus Innovation Spaces, launching the EON Virtual Reality Academy at HCT-Dubai Men’s and inaugurating multi-purpose R & D labs in cooperation with the Mohammed Bin Rashid Space Centre,” Dr Al Shamsi added.
The ASET 2018 multi-conferences featured more than 150 paper presentations, from institutions and research centres from over 20 countries, covering the five sub-conference themes. All presented papers will be submitted to the IEEE XploreÒ digital library for publication.
Dr Al Shamsi said the engineering conferences addressed global challenges and developments impacting society as a result of the Fourth Industrial Revolution and developing technologies, such as Artificial Intelligence, unmanned aircraft systems, driverless cars, Internet of Things, 3D printing, nanotechnology, and much more. As a result of these cutting-edge technological advances, Dr Al Shamsi said the HCT is preparing graduates for new, future occupations that have not yet been created.
ASET 2018 was a valuable opportunity for students to present their graduation projects in an international setting, in the format of a students’ poster competition. The HCT engineering students were able to discuss their research results with hundreds of scientists from all over the world. More than 40 posters were displayed in the poster competition, with the top five being presented with awards.
Dr. Mohammad Al Jarrah, HCT Executive Dean of the Faculty of Engineering Technology & Science, said the success of the multi-conferences was due to the collective team effort. “We sincerely thank the ASET’18 organizing committee members for their hard work and dedication and we are very appreciative of the distinguished keynote speakers, authors and reviewers for their enthusiasm, time and expertise in helping to make ASET a successful event,” Dr Al Jarrah said.
He added that HCT was proud to continue its heritage of involving its students in international events, such as the ASET 2018 multi-conferences. “There are approximately 170 students participating in the student poster competition as part of the conferences, with about 40 innovative engineering-based projects being exhibited by these talented students,” Dr Al Jarrah said.
For more information, please visit ASET website www.aset.hct.ac.ae
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About the Higher Colleges of Technology (HCT):
Founded in 1988 with four colleges, the Higher Colleges of Technology (HCT) have grown to be the UAE’s largest applied higher educational institutions in the UAE, gaining a well-respected reputation for innovative and job-focused experiential learning. Close to 23,000 students attend 16 modern, technology-oriented men's and women's campuses throughout the UAE. HCT offers a wide range of programmes in the academic fields of Applied Media, Business, Computer Information Science, Education &, Engineering Technology & Science, Foundations, General Studies and Health Sciences. These programmes are all relevant to the UAE’s fast growing economy and are designed in consultation with business and industry leaders to ensure that HCT students’ skills are job-relevant and to the highest standards. The programmes are constantly monitored to ensure they are at the cutting edge of industry standards and technological change. Visit www.hct.ac.ae
