Masdar Institute of Science and Technology, an independent, research-driven graduate-level university focused on advanced energy and sustainable technologies, has announced it will continue to build on last year’s landmark successin the coming academic year.

During the last academic year, Masdar Institute filed for one provisional patent with several more patents in line for filing, while its faculty members and students presented a record number of papers at major international conferences and reviewed more than 200 journal submissions. Moreover, top officials were accorded special rankings and status by elite scientific organizations, while research collaborations were signed with several leading national and global institutions.

In order to further build on the continuing successin the year ahead, Masdar Institute is strengthening the program offerings across the board, adding fresh courses and facilitating more inter-disciplinary research projects. The enrolments fromlocally practicing professionals this year, accommodatingworking student’s professional responsibilities with liberal rate-of-progress and course load expectations will mark one of the most unique offerings from Masdar Institute in the new year.

Dr Fred Moavenzadeh, President of Masdar Institute, said: “Our mandate is to remain among the globally top-ranked academic institutions and be recognized as a regional and international model for research-intensive universities of the 21st century, while underpinning Abu Dhabi’s economic growth.With continuous support from the UAE leadership, we seek to build human capital and expand the knowledge base of the countrythrough our niche program and research offerings.”

The UAE National Foundation program and the eight academic streams have steadily increased the intake of indigenous students.

During the last year, Masdar Institute signed several research collaboration agreements to facilitate the onset of cleaner technology at various national and international organizations such as Emirates Aluminium,Masdar PV GmbHand Siemens.In addition, Toyota Motor Corporation of Japan, the International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA) and the ICT Fund of the UAE have signed scholarship agreements with Masdar Institute to bolster knowledge development in sustainable transport, clean energy and the IT sectors.

Stamping its mark as an institution that continuously evolves in innovation, a team led by Dr. Iyad Rahwan, Associate Professor - Computing and Information Science, Masdar Institute, in collaboration with Dr. Manuel Cebrian, Research Scientist at University of California, San Diego (UCSD), won the international Tag Challenge competition in April 2012. The teams’ singular feat redefined the limits of technology-mediated social mobilization and rapid information gathering.

Furthermore, a team of scientists and researchers led by Dr. Raed Hashaikeh, Associate Professor – Materials Science and Engineering, successfully developed the first operational 2032-coin cell type lithium battery, paving the wayfor the filing of a provisional patent application with the US Patents and Trademarks Office.

For the new academic year, each program faculty has already worked towards further expanding the scope of contributions to human capital development in renewable energy and advanced technologies.The funding of two flagship proposals that was approved by the Joint Massachusetts Institute of Technology-Masdar Institute Steering Committee, and the involvement in the organization of the first International Water Summit in Abu Dhabi in 2013 will mark another successful year ahead for the Water and Environmental Engineering program.

Similarly, at least four new courses are expected to be added to expand the scope of the Electrical Power Engineering (EPE) program in the coming academic year. The expertise of Masdar Institute’sEPE has been recognized by the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) societies, including industrial electronics, power electronics and power & energy systems.

Likewise, the faculty and studentsfrom the Microsystems Engineering program and the Materials Science and Engineeringparticipated in the Second International Workshop on ‘Cleanroom Training for Critical and Sustainable Technologies’ program as part of Masdar Institute’s plan to commission the region’s first cleanroom laboratory by the end of this year.

Masdar Institute received accreditation for its Chemical Engineering Master’s program last year, while the Microsystems Engineering program continues to provide students with broad exposure in areas includinganalog and digital circuit design as well as research and development of new electronic, photonic, and MEMS devices.

Among the alumni of 2011 batch, two students – Rana Qudeh and Steven Meyers –won international acclaim, bringing honor to Masdar Institute. Qudaih received the Borealis Student Innovation Award, while Meyers was selected in the esteemed Forbes 30 ‘Under 30’ achievers list in the ‘clean energy’ category.

Capping the achievements of the year was the commencement ceremony in May 2012 when a total of 55 graduates received their Master’s degrees.In June 2011, a batch of 71 students received their degrees at Masdar Institute’s first-ever commencement ceremony. The caliber of theseexemplary students clearly bears testimony tothe effectiveness of Masdar Institute’s dynamic and responsive academic programs and research offerings.

Establishedas an on-going collaboration with the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), Masdar Institute integrates theory and practice to incubate a culture of innovation and entrepreneurship, working to develop the critical thinkers and leaders of tomorrow. With its world-class faculty and top-tier students, the Institute is committed to finding solutions to the challenges of clean energy and climate change through education and research.

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