Masdar Institute of Science and Technology, an independent, research-driven graduate-level university focused on advanced energy and sustainable technologies, today announced that nine of its UAE national students completed a two-week orientation program in preparation for the Japan International Cooperation Center’s (JICE) third annual summer internship program with five leading companies in Japan.

The foundation program also included lessons in the Japanese language designed to prepare the group for a meaningful cultural immersion during their five-week field internship in Japan. The nine students will intern with JGC Corporation, Mitsubishi Electric, Mitsubishi Heavy Industries, Chiyoda Corporation and Toshiba Corporation. The internships are intended to provide students with advance learning opportunities in the latest research and development in the field of clean technologies.

The rest of the annual internship programs are held in Japan from 18 May to 7 July, 2014. The interns include Engineering Systems and Management students Shamma Al Jaberi, Abeer Almaazmi, Majid Aljasmi, Bader Mohammad, Muna AlAteibi and Reem Ketait, Electrical Power Engineering students Nada Al Awadhi and Hajer Al Yammahi and Chemical Engineering student Elham A. Abdulkarem. This internship program is being coordinated by the JICE and supported by the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry (METI) of Japan.

Dr. Behjat Al Yousuf, Dean of Students, Masdar Institute, said: “The JICE internship program has introduced many improvements this year. For example, the orientation is conducted here in Abu Dhabi to help maximize the students’ time with the industries, while the curriculum was developed jointly between Masdar Institute faculty and the Japanese industries. This has helped in the selection process and to align students’ research with internship themes. Also, the students are introduced to research areas such as ocean energy technology and evaluations of cloud computing infrastructure. These learning opportunities provide our UAE national students with insight into the social and work culture in Japan, one of the world’s most technologically innovative countries. With the support of the UAE leadership, we continue to offer internship opportunities with top-level Japanese corporations and we hope the program will benefit the students.”

Ms. Masako Kishimoto, Vice-President of JICE, said: “From this year, JICE has enhanced the collaborative relationship with Masdar Institute, offering the foundation program in Japanese language in Abu Dhabi before the interns leave for Japan. We believe the new schedule will facilitate the interns to begin their projects at the earliest and provide a better experience in Japan.”

Abeer Almaazmi will intern with JGC Corporation, a leading global engineering company. She will work on areas such as optimization of heating, ventilation and air-conditioning operation using data from energy management systems and simulator in Japanese shopping centers, analysis of such data, as well as engineering studies in concentrated solar power (CSP) utilization and desalination.

Almaazmi said: “This internship will add value to my technical and management skills at the international corporate level. Being involved in such an efficient environment will also raise my awareness of best practices in the engineering field. I expect to be more prepared to merge in any working environment after my experience with JGC in Japan.”

Hajer Al Yammahi, who will intern with Chiyoda Corporation, said: “The JICE internship will expand my knowledge in the area of renewable power generation, its use, and implementation in different applications that are relevant to my research. My focus will be on solar power, which, in the UAE, faces many challenges. Additionally, I expect to learn about the Japanese language, culture, and lifestyle.”

Al Yammahi’s research focuses on controlling frequency for the smart grid environment where multiple renewable energy sources are used. During the internship, she will focus mainly on renewable energy technologies such as photovoltaics (PV) and CSP, visiting industrial plants and other sites.

During her internship with Toshiba at the R&D Center, Muna AlAteibi will focus on the security standards of control systems and the certification process, concurring with her academic research in smart power grids security, specifically in social engineering security. Her research aims to enhance the security in smart power grids systems and make the future systems more sustainable.

AlAteibi said: “Beside the technical side of the experience, the internship opportunity in Japan will allow me to strengthen my research capability, explore the industrial R&D environment and experience and visualize a different culture, including the culture of research and innovation.”

Elham Abdulkarem said: “Being an intern at one of the big companies such as Mitsubishi Heavy Industries will definitely add value to my knowledge. By the end of the internship I will be able to identify the market need for geothermal potential and how to enhance the geothermal systems.”

Bader Mohammad who will also intern with Mitsubishi Heavy will be focusing his internship research on sustainable construction.

Mohammad said: “Other than the cultural experience and gaining insight into the mindset of the intellectual Japanese individuals, I expect to gain knowledge in the methodologies in sustainable construction and how to manage sustainable projects.”

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