A team from The British University in Dubai (BUiD) has returned from a fact-finding mission where they met representatives of one of Europe's pioneers in the field of sustainable design, The University of Cardiff.
Major research projects examined at the meeting included new research on the use of innovative passive designs, advanced simulation techniques, renewable materials, waste management and environmental conservation.
A total of 20 students from Dubai participated in the meeting, which provided an important opportunity to contrast environmental design research from Europe and the Middle East.
Several students, all of whom are participating in the Sustainable Design of the Built Environment programme at BUiD, presented findings of their own studies.
"It was a welcome opportunity to share knowledge with peers working at The University of Cardiff. Obviously, climate conditions and design approaches differ in Europe and the Middle East, but there are techniques that are appropriate for both regions that can minimise the environmental impact of construction," said Professor Bassam Abu Hijleh, Atkins Chair, Head of the Sustainable Design of the Built Environment Programme (SDBE) at BUiD and Fellow, Cardiff University.
"Cardiff's work in promoting best practice about sustainable development within the construction sector was of great interest for many of the BUiD students. At the same time, there was equal enthusiasm about the scale of the developments being undertaken in the UAE and the steps being taken to minimise their environmental cost," he added.
Students were provided with an overview of some of the major projects currently under development, along with detailed research on applied industry techniques.
They were also given the opportunity to visit Cardiff's professional designed labs and extensive library in addition to receiving guidelines from some of Cardiff academic staff in preparation of their upcoming dissertation.
"One of the primary aims of the visit was to evaluate the level of education between both universities and assess the standard and quality of progress made by students from both countries," said Profesor Abu Hijleh.
"We were definitely pleased to note BUiD and Cardiff presentations were on the same high level of technical content and professionalism."
The educational visit was supported by engineering and design consultancy, Atkins. CEO of Atkins Keith Clarke met the BUiD student delegation during the visit to share invaluable industry insight into sustainable building techniques that can and are being used in the Middle East. Additionally, to further expand their exposure and opportunities for research, the students visited another university, Greenwich University in London, where they attended presentations by academic staff on different areas of sustainability.
BUiD's Masters Degree in the Sustainable Design of the Built Environment of international standards has attracted attention from international bodies.
International student delegations from top universities in Hong Kong and Denmark have visited the university to learn more about the programme.
In particular, research work conducted on the challenges of building in the hot, dry environs of the Middle East – and new concepts for reducing the subsequent energy demand of cooling facilities – has provided significant insight into wider energy management challenges.