WRc facilitates Abu Dhabi engineering students’ internship

WRc is proud to have assisted a summer internship for three final-year engineering students from Abu Dhabi’s prestigious Khalifa University. The students’ stay advanced their understanding of the UK water sector and enriched their education with ideas and opportunities that they hope to use on their return to Abu Dhabi.

(Photo above: At WRc Swindon. L-R: Matt Hart, Shaun Mason, Nicola Richter, Lydia Wood, Khaloud Aldhaleei, Noura Dayan, Amna Bazuhair, Amber Simmons, Andy Blackhall, Paul Crotty, Kiran Tota-Maharaj)

As part of their studies at Khalifa University, senior students of Industrial & Systems Engineering School are encouraged to apply for an internship, at home or overseas. The selection procedure is rigorous, with interviews and exams, and not all students are successful; three who were, are Khaloud Aldhaleeid, Noura Dayan and Amna Bazuhair. This article is about these aspiring young engineers’ route to the internship, organised by WRc in partnership with Northumbrian Water Group (NWG) and Royal Agriculture University (RAU).

A chance conversation leads to enriching, international intern experience

You may be wondering how Noura, Amna and Khaloud studying 4500 miles away in Abu Dhabi chose to come to the UK for their internship. It was simply down to a fortuitous conversation that one of the students had with her sister about the students’ search for an internship that could inspire and challenge them all. Having recently met Nicola Richter, WRc Head of Academy, who was in Abu Dhabi as part of a WRc water-related training programme that she was leading. The rest is, as they say, history, and resulted in the students’ hugely successful, two-month, internship.

Good to know: Abu Dhabi is the largest emirate of the seven that make up the United Arab Emirates (UAE). The city of Abu Dhabi, after which the emirate is named, is the capital of the UAE. Unlike in the UK, the utility sector (including water, gas, oil and electricity) in Abu Dhabi City is managed by one company, Abu Dhabi Distribution Company (ADDC), while Al Ain Distribution Company manages water and electricity services in Al Ain city and its surroundings.

Above L to R: Khaloud Aldhaleei, Noura Dayan, Amna Bazuhair touring Howden Wastewater Treatment Works (courtesy of Northumbrian Water Group)

Back in June, Noura, Amna and Khaloud embarked on their eight-week adventure, starting with a week in the Cotswolds at RAU, Cirencester, followed by six weeks in the north-east at Northumbrian Water Group (NWG), and a final wrap-up week back at RAU, with a visit to WRc in Swindon to present the key highlights, learnings and experiences of their internship to WRc’s Executive team.

8 activity-packed weeks from Cirencester to Newcastle and back

Week 1: at the Royal Agriculture University (RAU)

The students attended research seminars focusing on water and environmental engineering. They collected and analysed water samples from the local Windrush river and took part in micro biofuel experiments with PhD students.

Week 2 to 7: Newcastle and Northumbrian Water Group (NWG)

Noura, Amna and Khaloud’s visit to Newcastle and NWG was packed with activities and highlights of their stay, including a tour of NWG’s Howden waste water treatment plant, a tour of NWG’s water purifying laboratory, helping set up of the Northumbrian Water Innovation Festival (working on a sprint agenda to produce a blueprint for Howden and Bran Sands water treatment works in order for them to operate as biorefineries), and attending the festival’s Women in STEM event where they met Heidi Mottram, CEO of NWG, and Angela MacOscar, Head of Innovation at NWG.

“Supporting Noura, Amna, and Khaloud in their career development was incredibly rewarding. At Northumbrian Water Group (NWG), we are committed to nurturing the next generation of female engineers and innovators. Seeing these talented students grow, adapt to new challenges, and excel during their time with us was a testament to their dedication and potential. We were thrilled to be a part of their journey and look forward to seeing the great things they will achieve in the future." Angela MacOscar - Head of Innovation, Northumbrian Water Group

All three students were very impressed by Howden, commenting that it was “so fast and effective”.

About the Innovation Festival sprint and time at NWG, Khaloud said, “Everything was so interesting and new to us. We were continually learning analytical and technical skills that we will use in our future careers.”

They also worked on data gap analysis for Dr Donna Rawlinson’s NWG Ammonia Recovery project. “Our comments were used in Dr Rawlinson’s presentation, which was really nice,” said Noura.

During the final week in Newcastle, Noura, Amna and Khaloud visited Stantec, and were wowed by their offices, overlooking the River Tyne and the Tyne and Gateshead Millenium bridges. “The visit to Stantec was an inspiring and incredible experience,” said Amna.

As well as learning about the UK water industry, the interns all agreed that over the past two months they have become more independent, have developed their communication skills and learned what responsibility for projects entails. “We have learned how to start a project and manage it,” said Khaloud, “as well as adapting to a new culture and very different work hours!”

At their presentation to the WRc Executive team in Swindon, Matt Hart, WRc Delivery Director, asked the interns if there was an opportunity they had learned during their stay that they could take back to Abu Dhabi. In unison they replied, “The drainage system - it rains a lot here!”

Noura, Amna and Khaloud promised to keep in touch with the team at WRc who organised and supported their internship (see photo). As they head into their final year of studies at Khalifa University, they all agreed that their eight-week insight into the UK’s water industry has inspired them to look afresh at their future careers.

“It was a pleasure to facilitate the internship for Noura, Amna and Khaloud who clearly benefited from both the technical and cultural sides of the visit. We wish them well in their final year and hopefully a future career in the water sector.” - Shaun Mason, WRc Strategic Programmes Director.