Teaching Excellence

UAEU Facilities Help PhD Student Gain Valuable Expertise

PhD researchers at the United Arab Emirates University (UAEU) have been tackling pressing global and regional issues. And Abdul Mannan Zafar is one of them, with his research work mostly related to the use of biological organisms using LED to remove salinity from water.

The basic idea of his project is to desalinate seawater using natural gravitation techniques. He spoke of desalination as an emerging field which holds some promising results. After working on the project for over a year, Zafar was impressed by the University’s state-of-the-art infrastructure, facilities, and research calibre. And with adequate resources on hand, such research projects are bound to succeed.

But infrastructure is not the only factor that helps students in their professional path. Faculty members also hold an important place in that realm. As such, Zafar spoke of his UAEU professors as being extremely supportive, although not much interaction is required for PhD students themselves. “We just have to finish our coursework,” he explained. “Within that, the teachers are very supportive, even in our examination in providing lecture material.”

What initially attracted Zafar to the University is its funding for projects and its longstanding reputation in the region. As a public sector university, the state helps fund many vital projects in the field of research and development. Public sector universities hold a critical place in the consultancy of many governments around the world. Zafar found that to be of great benefit to his work, along with much exposure to other companies in his field of research.
As a former teacher at a public sector university in Pakistan, he believes his move to the UAEU has many advantages, including global recognition for his current research work as a ground-breaking technology. “Water is expensive in the UAE so we can treat it through biological methods, and that will reduce the expense of electricity which makes drinkable water in this region very expensive,” he noted. “This is my aim as well.”

The whole of the Arabian Peninsula mostly consumes seawater for its daily needs, which led Zafar to pursue such a project in his research. The high cost of water – namely potable water – in the region and his educational background as an environmental engineer pushed him even further to pursue work in the field. “Being an environmentalist, we have to keep our environment clean and make our resources available for future generations,” he added. “In that case, we have to seek opportunities and do work where there is some potential.” He spoke of the UAE as a country which holds an array of opportunities, particularly related to the environment, as water-related issues are very much present.

With another three years to go to complete his PhD, he believes a number of consultancy opportunities in teaching academia will come his way. For Zafar, holding a PhD opens the door for potential promotions in a future career, more funding for other related projects, and countless opportunities in terms of science, personal growth and teaching others as well. He seeks to opt for a more research-oriented career in the field to be able to bring his scientific expertise back to his home country of Pakistan, which he described as having room for more development. “There are not a lot of opportunities in the research and development sector in Pakistan and, for that reason, there are not a lot of research centres there which support research activities,” he said. “That is also one of the reasons I left the country, for scientific growth as well.”

A lack of resources in terms of laboratories, equipment, and funding, also pose major barriers in fulfilling research projects. For Zafar, the UAE is in a position to provide these vital elements, with more equipment regularly being added thanks to adequate funding. Zafar believes that, for ground-breaking research to take off in a number of specialised fields, being well equipped in laboratories is key in being able to generate sound results. And with the UAEU’s infrastructure and equipment constantly being upgraded, Zafar hopes he will gain enough knowledge and expertise in the field from the University to take back to Pakistan and help his country as a result. “We cannot bring a lot of money to Pakistan,” he concluded. “But the expertise is what matters”.