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Following the success of the Women in Engineering Forum in 2020, Abu Dhabi University (ADU) is set to host the fourth edition of the Women in Engineering Forum 2021 titled “The Contribution of Women Engineers to Sustainable Smart Cities Pre and Post COVID-19.”

Led by ADU’s College of Engineering (CoE), the two-day Forum will focus on three main themes including: The challenges, demands, and opportunities that female engineers face in building sustainable smart cities and leveraging their experiences in solving industrial challenges. The Forum will also present insights on the roles that universities play in involving and encouraging gender diversity in various fields of engineering.

The Forum is taking place on 8 and 9 of November 2021 in collaboration with the International Federation of Structural Concrete (fib) UAE section (fib-UAE), and in strategic partnership with Abu Dhabi Municipality, Society of Engineers-UAE, and Abu Dhabi Convention and Exhibition Bureau in the Department of Culture and Tourism The event is supported by several local and international entities and engineering societies such as the American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE), the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE), the Institution of Structural Engineers, the American Concrete Institute (ACI) and the Arab Youth Center.

The event connects influential women from various engineering fields under one roof and encourages them to share experiences, knowledge, and skills. It seeks to highlight the contribution and impact of female engineers on the development of sustainable smart cities pre COVID-19, in addition to the new and different challenges that arose from the pandemic. The event will also discuss the main issues female engineers face in the MENA region.

This year’s Forum aims to reach out to local, regional, and international audiences, and introduce national and international speakers from different sectors and industries such as professional engineering societies, pioneering companies and world-class universities. It will focus on the prevalent gender gap in different fields of engineering and optimize the role of female engineers in solving industrial challenges.

Dr. Hamdi Sheibani, Dean of College of Engineering, said: “ADU’s College of Engineering is thrilled to host the fourth Women Engineering Forum to highlight women's contributions in the field of engineering, and work towards bridging the gender gap in the field. We aim to bring together women from around the world to share and exchange knowledge and experiences and encourage young female engineers to become more involved in the field.”

Dr. Reem Sabouni, Associate Professor at ADU and Chair of the Forum commented: “We look forward to seeing our highly-skilled female students develop more innovative solutions and grow within the field of engineering. Our efforts are perfectly aligned with ADU’s mission to prepare and empower students to occupy demanding jobs and become leaders of the future.”

In line with Abu Dhabi Economic Vision 2030, ADU hosted the Women in Engineering Forum for three consecutive years to focus on issues female engineers face, specifically in the region. In 2020, the Forum received a turn out of more than 500 local and international participants.

Being the largest engineering college in the UAE, ADU’s CoE offers a strong range of engineering programs that prepare students to deal with the ever-changing market needs due to its up-to-date curriculum and advanced facilities. The percentage of female students within the College of Engineering at Abu Dhabi University has been gradually increasing over the past years and it reached now a 40% count overall by this term (Fall 21-22), which is among the highest percentages of female engineering students in universities worldwide.