HCT-Dubai students experience sustainable technology at Masdar City

Thirty-seven students from HCT-Dubai, Women’s Campus, recently visited Masdar City in Abu Dhabi on an experiential learning initiative. 

TheBachelor of Accounting and Financial Services students toured the Masdar Institute Headquarters in a Personal Rapid Transit (PRT) vehicle, an electric-powered car used as public transit at Masdar. The Headquarters is a modern modular, low-carbon design building and its façade acts as protection against heat with vertical and horizontal shading. Solar water heaters (Flat Plate Collector) supply 75% of the domestic hot water demand and the PV panels supply renewable electric power to the building. The landscape is designed to conserve water, promote biodiversity and create thermally comfortable outdoor spaces.

In the central courtyard the Institute has a wind tower which has been designed to bring cool air down to the ground level. At the top of the tower, sensors detect when it is necessary for the wind tower to start diverting wind down the tower. 

Masdar City has been attracting talent, financial capital and entrepreneurship in the renewable energy and technology field.  This low-carbon development plays an important part in transforming Abu Dhabi’s economy from an oil base to a knowledge-and-innovation base. Designed to reduce environmental impact, the streets maximize shade all day long, capturing cooling breezes and reducing the need for air conditioning. Buildings have both living and working in the same location which helps to reduce heating, cooling and internal transportation requirements.

Ayesha Rashid, Bachelor of Accounting student, said “Visiting Masdar City was a great idea to know and explore more about this amazing city that will rely entirely on solar energy and other renewable energy sources with all their facilities”.

Dr. Monica Gallant, Chair of Business Department at HCT-Dubai, Women’s Campus, said that field trips such as this one are an important opportunity for college students to appreciate the great strides being undertaken in the UAE to implement sustainable technology in real world projects.