Khalifa University has announced the graduation ceremony for members of the 2020 Young Future Energy Leaders (YFEL) outreach program will be held virtually on 21 January 2021, coinciding with the Abu Dhabi Sustainability Week 2021. This year will also mark the 11th annual graduation ceremony for the YFEL program.
A total of 32 YFEL members from the 2020 batch, who have successfully completed their year-long program of special courses, workshops, and conferences in leadership, policy and technology as well as personal project initiatives, will receive their certificates of completion at the ceremony. The graduation ceremony that culminates a transformative year for the 2020 YFEL members, will be streamed live online.
The 2020 YFEL members include 21 UAE Nationals, seven locally-based students and professionals, as well as four international young professionals from countries in Asia and South America, such as China, Saudi Arabia, Mexico and Brazil.
Launched at the 2010 World Future Energy Summit by His Highness Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi and the Deputy Supreme Commander of the UAE Armed Forces, the YFEL program offers members exceptional and unmatched access to top global leaders, senior business executives and academics engaged in alternative energy and sustainability.
Dr. Arif Sultan Al Hammadi, Executive Vice-President, Khalifa University of Science and Technology, said: “The YFEL outreach program helps broaden the university’s founding mission, by reaching out beyond the UAE borders, to attract students and young professionals anywhere in the world, and bring them to the UAE. Over its 11-year existence, members of the YFEL program have consistently contributed to sustainable projects, while remaining intensely involved in community-oriented initiatives. Through their year-long courses on training, mentorship, and guidance, they not only acquire new skills but also enhance their individual capabilities as future leaders, fully equipped for taking the UAE’s vision of sustainable energy leadership out into the world, and expand upon it.”
Each year, the YFEL members have consistently worked on new project concepts and contributed to sustainability-related initiatives. Two YFEL members participated in the 16-day International Antarctica Expedition (IAE) 2012, joining the IAE team to highlight sustainability and the need to preserve Antarctica. A group of 2011-2012 YFEL members played a significant role in the delivery of the 543 KWe photovoltaic (PV) solar power project that was commissioned in July 2014 at the Rashid Abdullah Omran Hospital in Ras Al Khaimah. In 2015, a group of 10 YFEL members introduced several community-wide initiatives in collaboration with 10 students from the Universitas Sebelas Maret, Surakarta, in the Central Java province of Indonesia.
The YFEL program was consecutively sponsored by Abu Dhabi National Oil Company (ADNOC) for several years. His Excellency Sultan bin Rashed Dhaheri, Member of the Federal National Council, sponsored the program for two consecutive years with a contribution of US$1 million each year. In 2011, Emirati philanthropist Mohammed Bin Kardous Al Ameri was the first private sponsor of this outreach initiative with a contribution of AED1 million. Other sponsors include BASF – one of the world’s leading chemical companies, and Siemens – a conglomerate and one of the largest industrial manufacturing companies.
Clarence Michael
English Editor Specialist
19 January 2021
