It was after watching former Vice President Al Gore’s documentary, “An Inconvenient Truth,” that Aimina Ayoub found her calling.
She says the film opened her eyes to “how sick the planet was,” and motivated her to act.
“The Earth is afflicted by countless environmental health issues deriving from our activities such as water pollution, air pollution, global warming and natural resource depletion, which also affect human health,” says Ayoub, who is French-Lebanese. “We lead a lifestyle as if we had another planet to colonize once the Earth’s ability to sustain our activities will be shattered, which is currently happening.”
Ayoub’s goal is to help develop creative and innovative solutions to environmental challenges and move society toward a more sustainable mentality. She just graduated with a Bachelor of Science in environmental health management from the Canadian University of Dubai in the United Arab Emirates.
The university currently offers three programs through its School of Environment and Health Sciences: Bachelor of Science degrees in environmental health management, health organization management and health information management. According to Rami El Khatib, associate professor and chair of the environment and health sciences school, the university also soon plans to offer a two-year diploma in food safety.
Explore the [Arab region universities that produce the best environmental science research.]
Ayoub says professors at the school encourage students to be active in the field. She participated in the 2012 Clean Up the World Campaign in Dubai and the Emirates Environmental Group Inter College Environmental Public Speaking Competition in 2012 and 2013. She also interned in Dubai for the environment, health and safety department of Alstom, a French multinational energy and transportation company.
El Khatib says graduates of his university’s programs can work in several sectors. These include government ministries, health care institutions, environmental agencies, educational institutions and research organizations, as well as industries linked to health safety and hazards, food safety, water resources, oil, real estate development and waste disposal.
Some senior positions in the governmental sector may be available to non-nationals, El Khatib says, but “non-nationals can always apply for senior positions in private sectors of the industry.”
With events like Expo 2020 in the UAE and the World Cup 2022 in Qatar approaching, both countries are using the events as an opportunity to take the lead in eco-friendly construction and development.
“UAE is promoting sustainability in different ways such as hosting different environmental conferences at governmental and private levels with major awareness campaigns,” says El Khatib.
For students interested in pursuing green degrees at Arab region universities, the move toward greener societies, particularly in the Gulf Cooperation Council countries, can yield greater opportunities.
“Certainly we would like to see more qualified graduates with sustainability credentials,” says Cynthia Skelhorn, postdoctoral research specialist at the Qatar Green Building Council. “This is especially true for Qatar and the GCC region, where development is moving so rapidly, and yet, we hope to see that this is well planned and a long-lasting development, guided by the most cutting-edge and thoughtful design solutions.”
Find out how [Arab universities are adapting to a changing regional job market.]
The QGBC is working with Qatar‘s Hamad Bin Khalifa University on course development for its two new graduate programs — sustainable energy and sustainable environment — with classes beginning this fall.
The American University of Beirut offers several green degrees ranging from a Bachelor of Science in environmental health to what the school calls a Pro-Green diploma. The latter is a postgraduate certificate program, aimed at professionals, with three specializations: energy, water and buildings. Students must have a B.S. in science or engineering to be admitted.
“The reason that I chose AUB is because it’s one of the top universities in Lebanon and also because it is offering this diploma, which is one of the first of its kind in the region,” says Lebanese-American Mahmoud Harb, who has a Bachelor of Science in mechanical engineering from the University of Houston and has worked for two different companies in the oil industry in the U.S., Oman, UAE, Mexico and Spain.
Makram Suidan, dean of the Faculty of Engineering and Architecture at AUB, says graduates of his school’s green programs have opportunities to foster links with stakeholders in business, industry, nongovernmental organizations and governmental agencies for the advancement of green technologies.
“Engineering firms requiring green training and education, water conservation and management agencies, alternative energy solution providers and various agencies will be in high demand for such recruits,” he says.
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Harb plans to use his extensive experience in the energy field to transition into a career in the green sector, where he would like to pursue raising environmental awareness among the younger generation. He sees “a lot of opportunity for improvement from a sustainability point of view in Lebanon and the Arab region.”
Meanwhile, this fall, Ayoub will attend the University of Montreal in Canada for her master’s degree in environmental and occupational health. Upon completion, she hopes to return to the UAE.
“The green sector is a budding sector so it will probably be easier to find a job there,” says Ayoub. “And, I love my life in Dubai.”
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Green Degrees Grow at Arab Region Universities originally appeared on usnews.com
