Masdar Institute of Science and Technology

The Masdar Institute of Science and Technology (Masdar Institute) was a graduate level, research-oriented university focused on alternative energies, sustainability, and environmental research. In 2017 it merged with two other institutions in Abu Dhabi to create Khalifa University, and its previous structure now hosts the research backbone of the new university, referred as the "Masdar City campus". It was located in Masdar City in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates.

Masdar Institute of Science and Technology
معهد مصدر للعلوم والتكنولوجيا
MottoLearning to change the world
TypePrivate not-for-profit
Active2007 (2007)–2017 (2017) (merged)[1]
Academic affiliation
Khalifa University
ProvostBehjat Al Yousuf (2015)[2]
Academic staff
85 (2017)[3]
Postgraduates456 (2017)[3]
Location
Masdar City
,
Abu Dhabi
,
UAE
ColoursLight Blue and White   
Websitewww2.masdar.ac.ae

Masdar Institute was an integral part of the non-profit side of the Masdar Initiative[4] and was the first institution to occupy Masdar City. The Technology and Development Program at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology provided scholarly assessment and advice to Masdar Institute.[5] As of April 2018, the collaborative agreement between the two institutions is still in place and currently hosts several exchange students from the legacy cohorts.[6]

History

Masdar Institute was established on February 25, 2007.[7] As of 2017, the Institute employed 85 faculty members and had an enrollment of 456 students.[3] The establishment of Masdar Institute was part of a resource diversification policy for the Emirate of Abu Dhabi. Abu Dhabi's leadership views research and education in alternative energy as a keystone for the future development of the emirate and expressed their commitment through the establishment of Masdar Initiative, Masdar City and the Zayed Future Energy Prize.[8]

The Institute's interim provost, Behjat Al Yousuf, was appointed in May 2015. She previously served as the Dean of Students at Masdar.[2] In 2017, Masdar Institute was merged with two other institutions to form Khalifa University.[1]

Campus

The campus, like Masdar City, was designed by architectural firm Foster + Partners[9] and the first phase of the project was managed by CH2M Hill.[10]

Organization

Masdar Institute emphasized interdisciplinary collaboration and an early decision was made to establish programs rather than departments. The programs that were implemented in the institution are:

  • Chemical Engineering
  • Mechanical Engineering
  • Materials Science and Engineering
  • Engineering Systems and Management
  • Water and Environmental Engineering
  • Computing & Information Science
  • Electrical Power Engineering
  • Microsystems Engineering

A single PhD level program was implemented across all research centers and programs, named as PhD. in Interdisciplinary Engineering.

Research centers
  • TwinLab3 Dimensional StackedChips Research Center
  • Sustainable Bio-energy Research Center (SBRC)
  • Smart Grid and Smart Building Center of Excellence
  • Renewable Energy Resource Mapping and Assessment Center

Students

Masdar Institute admitted 92 students from 22 countries in the first year of its operation and planned to have a steady state population of about 800 students. Qualified students from around the world are offered a full tuition scholarship, monthly stipend, travel reimbursement, personal laptop, textbooks, and accommodation once accepted to any of Masdar Institute's programs. By 2017, 456 students were enrolled[3] and the Institute had more than 550 alumni.[11]

Faculty and research

Masdar Institute commenced teaching in September 2009. Its academics conducted research individually and in collaboration with several top ranked universities, notably MIT, on topics including water environment and health, advanced energy systems and microsystems, and advanced materials.[6] By 2018, through the MI-MIT collaboration, 8 projects were completed and 11 one-to-one research and 3 flagship projects (larger research teams) were being executed.[12] The collaboration had a scientific outreach that included 201 scientific peer reviewed journal and book publications and 217 conference papers and presentations by April 2018.[13]

References
  1. "Khalifa bin Zayed issues Decree to establish Khalifa University of Science and Technology". Emirates News Agency. February 20, 2017. Retrieved April 16, 2018.
  2. "Office of the Provost". Masdar Institute. Retrieved April 16, 2018.
  3. "Masdar Insstitute Fast Facts" (PDF). Masdar Institute. 2017. Retrieved April 16, 2018.
  4. "About Masdar". Masdar Initiative. Retrieved April 15, 2018.
  5. "MIT-TDP - Technology and Development Program - Projects". Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Retrieved August 6, 2015.
  6. "Masdar Institute and MIT Collaborative Program". Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Retrieved April 15, 2018.
  7. ADFEC signs a cooperative agreement with The Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) Archived February 10, 2009, at the Wayback Machine
  8. Opening address of the World Future Energy Summit by H.H. Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi and Deputy Supreme Commander of The U.A.E. Armed Forces. Available at: WFES presentations
  9. "Foster + Partners Masdar City project website". Archived from the original on 2013-01-14. Retrieved 2008-02-19.
  10. Masdar selects CH2M Hill to manage the development of the world's first fully sustainable 'Green Community' Archived October 4, 2012, at the Wayback Machine
  11. "Merger of three universities in Abu Dhabi to create new synergies". Oxford Business Group. 2017. Retrieved April 16, 2018.
  12. "Active Flagship Projects". Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Retrieved April 15, 2018.
  13. "Publications by MIT and Masdar Institute Coauthors, and MIT Authors". Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Retrieved April 15, 2018.

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