(Guest bloggers) Abu Dhabi 2030 Plan: Connectivity and the Abu Dhabi Airport

This is a guest blogger post by one of the participating groups of students who looked at Abu Dhabi Plan 2030 and then developed a poster presentation of their chosen theme.

Connectivity means Abu Dhabi developing "hubs" of transportation networks to connect to the world...

By: Abdulla Al Reyami, Ahmed Al Tenaiji, Khalifa Al Rashedi, Mubarak Mahmoud

Introduction

Abu Dhabi International Airport is one of the vital player of the country’s economy, and a major player in Abu Dhabi 2030 vision. As of now, 2014, the airport has three terminals, each designated to serve different purposes. Abu Dhabi International Airport connects to 93 destinations around the globe.

Entering the airport

Terminal 1

This is terminal 1 of Abu Dhabi International Airport. It is the oldest building in Abu Dhabi International Airport, and it has gone through renovations to give it a more modern look. It acts as the main gate in and out of the emirate of Abu Dhabi for passengers.

Terminal 1 (use it to fly Star Alliance - editor)

Terminal 2

Terminal 2 is a very specialized facility; it serves the eastern, central and southern Asian demographic. It serves passengers.

Terminal 2 (I used this one to go to India - editor)

Terminal 3

Terminal 3 is a new addition to Abu Dhabi International Airport completed on 2009. Terminal 3 building increased the Airport’s overall annual passenger capacity by 5 million. The terminal is dedicated to Etihad Airways.

Business and First class entrance!

Abu Dhabi Aviation

Abu Dhabi Aviation is the largest commercial helicopter operator in the Middle East. The company provides its services to support of the Abu Dhabi offshore oil, engineering and construction industries. The company was created in 1976.

For helicopters... (never been here - editor)

Cargo Terminal

Abu Dhabi International Airport was named the “Best Cargo Airport 2010” at the 27th Annual Air Cargo News Awards in London. The terminal has many features that ensure the safety of the cargo such as:

• Over 36,000 square meters of cargo storage area
• 24/7 services
• Temperature-controlled storage rooms with a range of Temperatures.
• Special storage rooms for vulnerable cargo
• Perishable pharmaceuticals storage

Cargo terminal

Abu Dhabi Cargo Company (ADCC) manages the handling of world-class cargo facilities, provides import and export services, and develops comprehensive delivery processes for airlines, freight forwarders and other stakeholders. They are located at Abu Dhabi International and Al Ain International Airports.

ADCC is the chosen cargo partner for many customers, including Etihad Airways and their growing network of over 60 destinations worldwide. ADCC manages all the cargo related matters in Abu Dhabi International Airport.  The Cargo village is part of the ADCC.

Cargo Village

Control Towers

As the Airport is planning to expand, a new tower was needed to accommodate the expansion. This new tower was built in the middle of the new plan for the new Abu Dhabi Airports expanding projects.

Old tower

New tower

Diversified Activity - Diversified Economy

ADAC offers a wide range of aviation-related, commercial and training services to airlines, operators, and other businesses directly and through its diversified group of subsidiaries. With its mission to become the world’s leading airport company, ADAC invested in developing a comprehensive range of aviation-related services that support the aeronautical development of all its airports.

Expansion - Abu  Dhabi 2030

Developments underway also include setting up the needed infrastructure for ADAC’s Free Zones as well as the property development services offered at ADAC. Al Bateen Executive Airport, the region’s first dedicated business aviation airport, is also undergoing parallel development plans to establish itself as a hub for the fast growing business aviation industry in the region.

Abu Dhabi International Airport expansion plan is part of the major development of the Emirate’s aviation industry, Al Ain International Airport is also undergoing expansion plans to become home to an Aerospace Cluster, with joint collaboration between ADAC and Mubadala Aerospace, aimed to become an internationally recognized center of excellence for aviation technology and innovation in the region. 

(Guest bloggers) Abu Dhabi 2030 Plan: Sustainability

This is a guest blogger post by one of the participating groups of students who looked at Abu Dhabi Plan 2030 and then developed a poster presentation of their chosen theme.

By: Mohamed Khalifa, Zayed Al Mazrouie, Ahmed Siddique

The Abu Dhabi 2030 plan is a comprehensive plan for the future development of the city of Abu Dhabi. The plan has been created to deliver the vision of His Highness Sheikh Khalifa bin Zayed Al Nahyan, President of UAE and the ruler of the city of Abu Dhabi, to fulfill the grand plan that was first established by the late Sheikh Zayed bin Sultan Al Nahyan with the ongoing evolution of Abu Dhabi. The Abu Dhabi 2030 plan is a long term-strategy plan to achieve a safe and secure society and a dynamic open economy. Sustainability is a key aspect to achieve the Abu Dhabi 2030 plan. 

Sustainability

Culture: Qasr Al Hosn Festival

The Qasr Al-Hosn festival is Abu Dhabi’s historical and cultural celebration.  It takes place in a 250-year-old fort located in Abu Dhabi. The festival gives UAE community and visitors the opportunity to experience all parts of UAE culture and heritage through activities for the past centuries. The festival gives people an understanding of how life was at the beginning of development of the city of Abu Dhabi from all living aspect.  The Qas Al-Hosn festival is a part of the strategic plan of AD 2030 as it shows that even though the country has developed dramatically throughout the years, a sign of culture and heritage still exists in it. It will give the UAE community and visitors a chance to enrich UAE heritage and not exclude it due to the country’s development; thus leading to patriotism in the UAE community.

Man weaving traditional baskets at the festival
Photo credit: Muhammed Al-Maskari

Traditional crafts at the festival

Photo credit: Jassim Al-Nowais

Environment: Masdar City

Masdar City strives to be one of the most sustainable communities on the planet that has been initiated in 2006. The mission behind the existence of Masdar city is to conserve energy and find new ways to survive with green energy development. The city runs on a 22-hecatare field of over 87 thousand solar panels. Due to us ‘human beings’ destroying/overusing most of our planets resources, conservation is a brilliant idea at this time. The existence of Masdar City and its future development in the city of Abu Dhabi can help the UAE on the long term with conserving resources for future purposes. It also helps the Abu Dhabi in going green and helps with the future of the environment of the city.

Masdar, people and environmentally friendly

Society: Developing islands

The population in the UAE is greatly increasing thus leading to an increase in demand of housings. Abu Dhabi has reached its capacity in housings within the city itself; therefore, Abu Dhabi’s government has decided in a long-term plan of making use of islands to provide more households for its community. The Hodariyat Island is a new island located near Abu Dhabi and extends up to the end of the Al Khaleej Al Arab street. The entrance of the island is located near Al Bateen are where a bridge connects the island to Abu Dhabi itself. This island is planned to be an extension of the city of Abu Dhabi, providing the community with more land for business projects and households to who are in desire of it. Another developing island is known, as Al Reem Island is a project that was recently launched, which consists of businesses, apartments, a university, a child youth care center, and more. Al Reem Island also plays a role in the strategic plan, as it is another extension and investment to the Abu Dhabi 2030 plan. 

Future plans...

Economy: Investment in Education

Education is the key to success of any developing country and Abu Dhabi has taken that into as a major factor of the Abu Dhabi 2030 plan. The city of Abu Dhabi has a lot of government schools and a couple of government universities that educate its students within the finest academic facilities. The government schools education used to educate its students all the subjects in only Arabic, but for the recent couple of years, all subjects were given in English except main Arabic-taught subjects. This would help students develop their English language with the development of their formal Arabic language. Another investment in education is the Zayed University campus of Abu Dhabi, and the Higher College of Technology. Both these institutes provide students with high quality education through highly respected professors in the finest educational facilities. These educational facilities are well respected internationally and help educate the UAEs community and prepare them to invest in Abu Dhabi’s economy. Abu Dhabi’s investment in education has been one of the highest investments from all of its factors as it seeks to educate its community for a further economic and social development. Abu Dhabi 2030 plan would be easily achieved if the community took part in the development process.  

Zayed University campus Abu Dhabi

Photo credit: Mohamed Al-Khazraji 

Abu Dhabi Plan 2030: a Poster Presentation

Today was our Strategy class poster presentation about Abu Dhabi Plan 2030 which outlines the vision of Abu Dhabi in the coming decades. Our trip to Cityscape last week, studying the plan in class and lots of creative thinking, resulted in a wonderful event with five unique and great posters. Each group is also writing a guest blog, so they will appear in the coming days as well.

We set up early and also had home made food and karak and gawa to make it feel like an event and not just a boring class.... Thank you Ghanem and your mother for providing the delicious food :) I even cheated on my diet!

Setting up the posters....thank you Joy Saneo for all your logistical and moral support!

Setting out the food.... Home made Emirati specialties is always a treat :)

Ready for our visitors :) Welcome!

Explaining the themes, photos and what they represent
about the development of Abu Dhabi's Strategic Plan

One of the main themes of AD 2030 is connectivity - that is building infrastructure to connect Abu Dhabi to the world - these young men chose the airport and explained how it has, does and will work towards achieving the strategic plans of the city

Economic diversification and development is at the heart of the plan.... And this group choose images that represent that and also chose the mosque to demonstrate that heritage and culture are the over reaching guides to realizing the plan.

Economic diversification through the development of the tourism industry will play an important role is moving away from dependence on the oil industry, as well as providing citizens and residents wonderful things to do in our leisure time.

Education is the key to developing a knowledge economy - and in Abu Dhabi that includes partnerships with foreign universities such as NYU and the Sorbonne as well as investments in our "home" Zayed University

A poster on the four pillars of estidama or sustainability... Culture, society, environment and economy. 

It was a great project and the posters and creativity were worth the sometimes stressful moments of will it be done in time? Of course I know I never have to worry. Please read up on each group's guest post, you will be interested to learn their view points on the future... I know I always am.

Top 5 (and least loved) blog posts after two years and 100 posts

Wow, two years after I started this blog and I am still at it... 100 posts in all, over 25,500 viewers (not all my Mom and Dad surely), many adventures and countless memories. As people like lists I decided to write another list... the top five blog posts of "all time" and a mention for the least loved....

The list includes both research results and "action learning adventures" - although the action took place in the classroom, on a camel farm and in Japan!

Number 5 with 770 views: Advice to Emirati entrepreneurs at each stage of the entrepreneurship process

The advice given is broken up into the four "basic" stages of the entrepreneurship process as illustrated by this fabulous graphic.

Entrepreneurship process in stages

The advice was developed after several years of research (which resulted in the UAE 2011 GEM Report and the first book on Emirati entrepreneurship) and seems to get a reader or two every week, even over year after it was first posted.

Number 4 with 859 views: Camel racing farm visit - another adventure in learning strategy from traditional industries

Given my overarching theme of learning about what strategy is "now" in the UAE by looking to the past and Emirati heritage, we visted two different camel farms in Sharjah, UAE to learn about camel racing and also to think about the strategy of camel racing...
There is a video here about the robot jockey (an Emirati invention) here:

Camel racing is a fascinating sport, with different strategies and tactics used to train, feed and heal camels - all depending on the age of the camel, sex and length of the race. They are also beautiful animals :)

We are interrupting a 5* dinner with imported fresh grass!

Number 3 with 1598 views: ZU Men's Business Association trip to Japan - Emirati planning in action (Part 1)

During the 2012 Spring break the Men's Business Association at Zayed University in Abu Dhabi went on a study abroad trip to Japan. Ten of the founding members of the Association, myself (the supervisor of the Club) and David (awesome instructor in College of Social Sciences and only Westerner I know who speaks local Arabic!) went on a ten day adventure to Tokyo - this is what we did, but more important how it all came together through the amazing support of so many people at ADNOC Distribution (forever grateful), Mr. Hasan (the most Emirati, Japanese person I have ever met), the UAE Embassy in Japan (will never be able to thank you enough) and ZU (many individuals put a rush on things that are not normally rushed).

This is just part 1 of 3 outlining our adventures, but needless to say we had a great time, visited many interesting sites, met wonderful people and learned to get around a country whose infrastructure is very different than our own - and are still in contact with our student translators who volunteered their time to be our guides. We have even had a visit here from one of them :) 

The group with the UAE Ambassador to Japan

Number 2 with 1755 views: Entrepreneurship as Process

I can only assume that describing entrepreneurship as a process is a term paper question... because this post is viewed in "clusters". It is a simple description of the four phases of the process... but I guess simple is a good thing when it comes to usability!

There are four basic phases of the process :

1.      Recognizing opportunities

2.      Assembling resources

3.      Launch of venture

4.      Harvesting and succeeding

Number 1 with 1908 views: Let them eat cake: Learning strategy through celebration

Manchester City won the Barclays Premier League football (soccer for the North American readers) for the first time in 44 years two years ago. Now, you might not know, but Man City is Abu Dhabi's team - Abu Dhabi United Group for Development and Investment owned and run by Sheikh Mansour bin Zayed Al Nahyan bought the Club in 2009 - and just three short years later we won (yes - I am a fan too).

I learned to use all things football to teach different elements of strategic management early when I began teaching the boys... My plans to watch a video turned into a celebration with cake and pop and a video of the winning goal. And I still use this to teach... and yes, light bulb moments happen each time!

Totally yummy cake!

Now, for the least loved - in fact it was my first post welcoming people to my new blog... lets just say visits are barely into the double digits... but that's OK :)

I will continue with my blog... it will change and adapt as next semester I will not be teaching Strategy, but will be teaching Innovation Management to the girls... our action learning adventures will surely be held mainly on campus, but that just requires a bit of creativity and planning - something Emirati women excel at!