Abu Dhabi-UAE: The Department of Architecture and Design at Abu Dhabi University (ADU), organized its first-ever international urban planning conference under the theme ‘Constructing an urban future: the sustainability and resilience of cities including infrastructure, communities, and architecture’.

The two-day conference was headlined by frontline speakers including Eike Sindlinger, Associate at Arup’s Integrated City Planning Unit in London and Professor Shams Eldien Naga, Founder of Naga Architects, headquartered in Dubai. Drawing the participation of researchers, practitioners, decision makers from government, architects, and designers as well as ADU’s students and faculty, the event addressed some of the common challenges surrounding urban planning in an era of migration and displacement of populations, rapid urbanization and dramatic surges in the global population.

Speaking on the occasion, Dr Mohammad Elkaftangui, Assistant Professor, Architecture and Interior Design at Abu Dhabi University, said: “The two-day conference highlights some of the key global challenges faced by people in urban environments such as population growth, urban sprawl, pollution, and congestion. The experts outlined that a multi-sectoral approach needs to be implemented in achieving the priority areas of urban planning – energy efficient buildings, urban mobility with reliable and affordable public transportation, clean energy generation from local sources, waste management and resource recovery, among others.

“This event has been a revelation to our students and served as a platform for the experts and stakeholders to network and share best practices and stay up-to-date with new developments in the field. Our students have benefitted considerably from this learning experience outside the classrooms. Events such as this one allow them to understand the real-life challenges in this dynamic sector.”

The 2014 edition of the United Nations’ World Urbanization Prospects report stated that by 2050, 66 percent of the world’s population will live in urban environments. Already in that year, some 54 percent of the global population lived in cities.

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About Abu Dhabi University (ADU)

Abu Dhabi University (ADU), an internationally recognized university for quality education and applied research that fosters academic excellence and continued growth, was established in 2003, three years after a charter for the university as a key driver of socio-economic growth, was launched by His Highness Sheikh Hamdan bin Zayed Al Nahyan, the Ruler’s Representative in the Al Dhafra Region.

At its campuses in Abu Dhabi, Al Ain, and Dubai, ADU’s mission is to go beyond educating students and to contribute in strengthening the UAE’s global position as a progressive and innovative nation through its internationally competitive programs, world-class faculty, and educational resources. The University aims to hone the creative talent, critical thinking and leadership skills of the nation’s youth and empower them to become global leaders and lifelong learners.

Striving towards educational excellence, ADU is the first university in the country to receive the Sheikh Khalifa Excellence Award in 2010 and the first private higher education institution in the UAE and the GCC region to receive an international academic accreditation from the Western Association of Schools and Colleges (WASC). ADU’s College of Business Administration holds international accreditations from the Association to Advance Collegiate Schools of Business (AACSB) and the prestigious EFMD Quality Improvement System (EQUIS). In addition, its College of Engineering has earned the accreditation of the world renowned Engineering Accreditation Commission (EAC) and Computing Accreditation Commission (CAC) of ABET.

Dedicated to achieving excellence on all international academic levels, ADU is ranked in the top 2.8% of universities worldwide in the prestigious Quacquarelli Symonds (QS) World Universities Ranking, scoring third on the “International Faculty Index” for its faculty’s diverse cultural backgrounds, and ninth on the “International Student Index” for its international student body. Moreover, ADU also ranked in QS’s top 150 leading institutions under 50 years, and in the top 7 of all private young universities in the world, the top 3 of all private young universities in the Arab World, and the top 16 of all private universities around the world.

© Press Release 2018