Emirati youth leader strives to bolster UAE-Israel ties

Saoud Saqer bin Hamoodah is a 30-year-old socially active Emirati youth leader and winner of the Khalifa Award for Education. The Abraham Accords peace deal has given him a new slant in life and now he aspires to become an ambassador and represent the UAE.

Till date, Hamoodah, a graduate in mechanical and aerospace engineering from the United Arab Emirates University, has led many initiatives to encourage youngsters to join hands in nation building.

“From 2014 up to 2016, I was part of the UAE youth empowerment strategy. I was the leader of the project called: National Youth Council. I was very busy then. So, we would be working on the weekends with the ministry.”

While at the university till 2017, he initiated a marketing programme to promote the university in the region.

“I started a discount card programme. It was one of the biggest programmes at the university. I was marketing the university in the region by making collaborations with companies and establishing new cooperation with other universities. The university actually liked the programme so much that they gave me a job there. So, while I was studying engineering, I was also working for the university.”

The highlight of his university days was winning the Khalifa Award for Education for his innovative project.

“The project was based on utilising nano lasers to create artificial hearts. Basically it creates micro channels in the artificial hearts. This is related to bio-engineering. The actual project would have cost Dh700,000 but we did it at just Dh17,000. It was innovative.”