BizBahrain Magazine Nov-Dec 2017

Interview | The British Council
projects to designing and building
carbon footprint calculators. Please
find below an overview of main projects
which I have provided consultation for:
• Provided consultation for
Bahrain Science Centre for the
establishment of their Renewable
Energy Section
• Provided consultation for
Electricity and Water Authority for
the installation of CSP in Hawar
Islands
• Provided consultation for
Sustainable Energy Unit for
Renewable Energy Resources
Besides providing consultation, I am
also a member at several societies and
technical committees, including the
below:
• Member of the Bahrain Standard
Technical Committee on
Renewable Energy and Energy
Storage Systems
• Member of the GCC Standard
Technical Committee on
Renewable Energy and Energy
Storage Systems (Bahrain
representative)
• Member of the National Standard
Committee on Oil and Gas
• Member of International Solar
Energy Society
Any tips or suggestions from your
experience with the prestigious training
programme?
Training programmes are extremely
important because they allow us to
increase our knowledge on different
aspects and share experiences with
other participants. The most important
is networking since this helps us to
polish our existing skills and to explore
new skills.
Sometimes it’s challenging
attending a training programme since
you will be out of your comfort zone,
however it’s rewarding because you’re
fully depending on listening, learning
and sharing your thoughts with other
team members. At the start of these
trainings you might not see a direct
impact on the overall training but I
can confidently say that by the end of
these training programmes you will
be amazed about the results and how
much knowledge you have gained in a
short period of time.
The British Council’s work
connecting UK and Bahraini scientists
for example, helps us know what the
latest research is, how we can work
together and where there might be
opportunities for partnerships - this
helps to bring up the quality of research
in both the UK and Bahrain and for
scientists from both countries to
exchange knowledge and ideas.
Was studying for an MSc in renewable
energy systems technology a course
you had always planned on doing? What
inspired you to do so?
I have always had a strong
passion for the sun, thinking about
its mesmerising power and size,
encouraged me to follow my study
in renewable energy. I have an MSc
and PhD in renewable energy at
the University of Loughborough’s
prestigious CREST research institute.
During my study, I worked on
researching the potential of renewable
energy and the impact on the
conventional power system in Bahrain.
Especially because our country’s power
system is heavily accommodated by
water production system.
After my studies, I was chosen to
work on renewable energy research
projects in Bahrain, followed by
promoting this subject in the country.
To further support the industry, I took
on the role of Head Judge for the 13th
GCC Youth Scientific Conference and
Competition in 2012 and Judge for
the Globe National Environmental
Competition for schools in 2015 and 2016.
How do you place your genre of study in
a Bahraini context?
Many people across the globe are
very interested in promoting clean
energy sources, since it has a direct
impact on our precious environment,
the economy and lifestyle. The Kingdom
of Bahrain has established strong
and responsible goals to encourage
sustainability through its 2030
Economic Vision.
Sustainability is a key part of the
2030 Vision and it includes plans
to provide a local and sustainable
environment through the introduction
of a clean source of energy in Bahrain
by replacing the conventional fuel
(natural gas) for power production by
renewable energy. That step has been
formulated with the establishment of
the Sustainable Energy Unit (SEU) and
the Standard Technical committee for
renewable energy.
Giving the above initiatives by the
government of Bahrain, we need to
continue to invest in education and
research since they play a crucial
role which will drive the execution of
the plans made by the government to
introduce renewable energy. Having
international partners, for example our
partnership with Aston University and
Oxford University and the CREST and
Loughborough University, is also very
useful as environmental challenges
are global and require an international
response.
November-December 2017
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