In August 2019, 41 students from around the world gathered at Mohammed Bin Rashid University of Medicine and Health Sciences. Participants are originally from Australia, Germany, France, Netherlands, Japan, China, U.A.E, Pakistan, Yemen and the list goes on forever. During the forum, they were in undergraduates, masters or Ph.D program at their home university.
During the forum a total of five session-types were held. Leadership sessions teach participants about the core abilities of STeLA's leadership theory. Thematic sessions invoke discussions or serious games regarding science and technology and put the leadership sessions into perspective by connecting them to the forum theme. The thematic sessions are accompanied by four keynote speakers.
During the forum the Site Visit gave participants the opportunity to view this year’s theme ‘Energy Transition and The Urge for a Sustainable Future in some context: The Sustainable City in Dubai was visited. The forum has been concluded by a 3-day Group Project, where participants have applied their newly gained knowledge on science, leadership and teamwork to work on a large project together with their multidisciplinary, multinational team. Each day is ended with a Reflection session where first individuals are asked to reflect on their own performance during the day, also the group will give and receive feedback from each other and from their facilitators.
SITE VISITS
The Sustainable City Dubai
This year’s site visit destination was “The Sustainable City” Dubai where our future leaders could see what a sustainable and eco-friendly future could look like. The “Sustainable City” in Dubai, a shining example of reducing ecological footprint, protecting the environment and increasing community wellbeing which were some of the key elements of this year’s theme “Energy Transition and The Urge for a Sustainable Future” that were discussed throughout the forum. It is the first net zero energy development in the Emirate of Dubai. The development includes 500 villas, 89 apartments and a mixed-use area consisting of offices, retail, healthcare facilities, a nursery and food and beverage outlets, Phase 2 of the development will include a hotel, school and innovation centre.
Key elements of the City include:
• a residential area of 500 townhouses and courtyard villas inspired by Dubai’s old Al-Bastakiya district
• 11 natural ‘biodome’ greenhouses, organic farm and individual garden farms for local food production that use a passive cooling method with fans and pads.
• 10 MW peak solar production
• wastewater recycling, with segregated drainage for greywater and blackwater using papyrus as a biofilter
• biking and shaded jogging trails
• charging stations for electric cars
• an equestrian center
FORUM SPEAKERS
Kais Badran
An award-winning speaker in the field of human development and an ex-reality TV jude at the famous Arab TV channel MBC 1, Mr. Kais provided a case that majority of the population are born leaders. He also enumerated the reasons why people should lead in an inspirational talk which the participants thoroughly enjoyed.
Engineer Mounir Kabbara
As a senior sustainability engineer, Mr. Kabbara shared his expertise in sustainability by delivering a presentation about sustainable cities in UAE. He discussed the key components of sustainable development as well as the three factors to consider for a sustainable urban planning: economical, environmental and social. In the end, he mentioned emerging technologies such as blockchain which can be utilized to fight climate change.
Engineer Omar Sadder
A Regional Development Manager at Yellow Door Energy, Omar Sadder presented the topic: ‘Solar Energy: Future Outlook’. In a brief presentation, climate change and global warming were discussed, and solar energy was offered as a viable solution to the future. Moreover, the participants learned about solar energy and took part in a 50-minute workshop where they analysed the viability of solar in the MENA region.
Professor Shakeel
A professor of legal studies in New York University Abu Dhabi with a specialization in environmental law and climate change law, professor Kazmi provided a legal outlook of renewable energy and climate change.