UAE students on entrepreneurship, engineering and summer jobs

For the wise man looks into space and he knows there are no limited dimensions” - a very popular quote from the works of Lao Tzu. This amazing visionary taught us that there are no limits towards success and creativity. We are all capable in getting and achieving what we want, we have unlimited brain power. This is the strategy that I am applying in my daily life which helps me in expanding and enhancing my vision of becoming a successful entrepreneur. 

How to be a good entrepreneur
Mohammad Bakkour Murdoch University, Dubai 2nd year Bachelor of Commerce

In order to be an entrepreneur, the focus should be towards helping people in turning their ideas into a reality on a global scale, investing in their ideas and turning obstacles into opportunities.

Entrepreneurs are risk-takers and go-getters. I always had an ambition of being an entrepreneur with a vision to change and apply creativity in society. When there is creativity in society, certainly there will be productivity and better living standards.

Investing in my intellectual capacity and indulging myself with various knowledge will lead me to my ultimate goals. The “Human Will” is the greatest feature of human beings. I will translate this feature into my entrepreneur visionary mission.

I am aiming towards establishing a firm which will nourish and cultivate entrepreneurs. No matter how life hits you, it should not be an obstacle to your visions of success. I am working on it now and for sure I am very determined to make things happen. Remember if your theory is right and your answer is wrong, that means you should change the way you performed the task.

Why I wanted to become a civil engineer

I moved to Dubai with my family in 2008 and it turned out to be the most important year of my life. It was my biggest opportunity to learn and explore further. Studying in a different curriculum and language in a different environment was difficult at first but with the support of my family I was able to proceed to university.

Why I chose Civil Engineering
Fatemeh Ardakani

Some of my friends mentioned that choosing their major in university was the hardest decision of their lives. However, it wasn’t the same for me. I always loved solving mathematical problems and building things. I always knew I wanted to be an engineer but I never thought I would become a civil engineer.

Most of my family members are engineers so I knew what I was getting myself into. Some people tried to change my mind by mentioning the fact that choosing a degree in civil engineering would be harder and more challenging than other subjects.

Other civil engineers that I knew, told me in an industry gender does not matter, if you truly want something you will be successful and most importantly happy doing it. Now I am third year civil engineering undergraduate student and I could not possibly imagine myself doing something else.

Civil engineering is not just about studying math, materials and construction principles; you must be organized, passionate, smart, hard-working, team player and a leader with ethics to become a civil engineer. Civil engineers do not just build bridges or buildings, they use engineering knowledge in order to makethe word a better place. As for me I want to specialize in energy, sustainability aand offshore strutures and I intent to e one amongst the millions of engineers who exist to keep this planet alive and healthy.

Get practical experience to interpret theories at college better!

The university that I go to does not have summer courses. So every year beginning May, I have 3-4 months of time to utilise or idle away. I do the latter and have behind me a wide array of experiences from my summer holidays. Each year, I take up any job opportunity that I get.

So far I have managed to grab a wide array of experiences ranging from the basics such as being a mechanic to white collar jobs. I have worked at the Hilton Hotel in RAK in the learning and development department, at a supply chain company, as a hands-on mechanic at a factory and even as an assistant cameraman!

Currently I am a freelance automobile journalist at Yallamotor.com and a marketing Intern at Yadig.com. YaDig is a reviewing website based in the UAE where community members can get on there and share their experiences with other users on the website.

Marketing gave me good exposure
Ahmad Al Nash
 

As a marketing intern my main duty is to get businesses to claim their pages on YaDig so they are able to reply to the reviews and manage the page as a whole. I do this through various mediums of communications where I mostly use social media, I also take advantage of telecommunications, and e-mail. I think this exposure has helped me hone my communication skills.

During the past year I took a Marketing course in university where I learned the different marketing strategies based on who we are targeting, be it businesses or consumers, and to be able to apply that in real situations during the internship.

It has given the course a whole new meaning. I personally believe that for a complete grasp of theories a student needs to apply these to real life situations. A truth I have gained through my first hand experience.