Lucky to be an Emirati woman today, says inventor

Reem Al Marzouqi with Mozo, the robotic teddy bear she designed to help children with autism to develop communication skills

'Empowered' is possibly the best word to describe Emirati women. Ahead of Emirati Women's Day on August 28, Khaleej Times profiles 5 inspiring Emirati women who have made their country proud. In the last part of the 5-part series, we introduce Reem Al Marzouqi, an Emirati engineer who bagged a US patent for her foot-controlled car designed for people with no arms. The young inventor believes men and women complement each other
Ask Reem Al Marzouqi what she loves to do, and she'd say, "create inventions that would benefit the community."
The young Emirati is 26 years old, but she already has a number of creative inventions outspread on her list.
The young engineer said this is the perfect time for UAE women, especially the youth, to innovate as the government has succeeded in providing whatever is necessary.
"We have a golden opportunity, so let's use it. I have many friends waiting for the right time, but this is the perfect time to show what can you do to the country or even your friends," said Al Marzouqi, Al Ain's UAE University graduate.
"Having a minister of youth [Shamma Al Mazroui] was over my expectations personally, and I don't know what can happen next to empower the youth."
Besides bagging a US patent for her foot-controlled car designed for people with no arms, the architectural engineer has gone all the way to designing ice panels that will help people build homes on planet Mars via robotic 3D printing that use materials to substitute the ozone layer.
Currently a project manager at Abu Dhabi Airports Company, she's designing a drug finder and duplicated material detector named "Mayyar" to be implemented at the airport to help test chemical composition of content without harming its package.
Her teddy bear Mozo, which she designed to help children with autism develop communication skills, has been applied in Zayed Higher Organisation and showed positive results from two children.
Witnessing the government's support to women, Al Marzouqi said it's a big change. The engineer noted that the government supported her in getting her US and Japanese patent for her first invention, the car she designed to help the disabled.
"When it comes to documentation or applying for a patent, you need money, legal intervention, and loads of time. The [governmental] university handled all this for me and saved me the time to come up with more ideas and apply them," said Al Marzouqi.
Upon getting her first patent, different ministers and officials reached out to congratulate her.
"As an Emirati woman today, I feel lucky. We have many opportunities that many people are missing. Travelling the world, I met many inventors who wish they had similar opportunities," she said. While it may be difficult to get scholarships in other countries, in the UAE, it's not a big challenge, Al Marzouqi added.
A shield to women
She said with all the support the government offers to female innovators, it protects them from morale-killers.
"When leaders focus on the young women, they prevent us from getting distracted by demotivation," said Al Marzouqi.
"There are loads of people who would hate to see innovators succeed; around the world, innovators are being ignored. So when the ministers, media and the entities give us credit, they're protecting us from this 'hatred bubble'."
Ultimately, she said, it allows the UAE women to beat misconceptions of how the West views Arab women. During her last visit to the US, she recalled meeting people who still thought Arab women are uneducated.
"Unfortunately, the West still thinks we only think of food, camels and tents. They don't believe we have innovations, and I was happy I'm one of those who could change the idea about Emirati women," said Al Marzouqi. While the negative connotations are changing, she said there's room for more.
And today, UAE women are seizing the opportunity to prove to the world what they're made of.
During her time in university, she recalled having 35 female students in her batch and only two men. In the media field, there were 60 females with only six men. "Women now outnumber men in schools and universities. They're highly motivated, self-driven and eager to learn," said Al Marzouqi.
Although increased women participation is welcomed in various fields, Al Marzouqi stressed a balance between male and female employees.
She added that both genders must work together to achieve the best they can in any given field.
Being the only woman in the construction department of the airport, Al Marzouqi said she did what a man could do.
"I went to sites and dealt with workers, but I didn't necessarily like the task."
She added that when she was transferred to the duty free area, men focused on ducting and wiring, while she handled the design. "We cannot work alone, we need to work together. While my male colleagues enjoyed wiring and ducting, I hated it and preferred designing instead, which was also highly needed in the field. In that sense, we completed each other," said Al Marzouqi.
In today's connected world, there's a need to develop the right problem solving and self-learning skills to move forward, while seizing the valuable opportunities.
sherouk@khaleejtimes.com
Key achievements of Reem Al Marzouqi
Reem Al Marzouqi is an Emirati engineer and the first UAE citizen to be granted a US patent for designing a driverless car. While studying at the UAEU, she worked with engineering consultants in Abu Dhabi and Dubai, including Musanada. She was listed among the inspiring women in a book published by the UAE Federal Competitiveness and Statistics Authority on Emirati Women's Day, titled 'Emaratiyah.. UAE's Inspiring Women.'
Al Marzouqi won second place in Emirates Skills national carpentry competition and she was the only and first female participating. Based on her academic achievement and extracurricular activities, she was selected to participate as 2014 innovation and technology delegate at the 51st Annual International Achievement Summit in San Francisco, California. Her car invention was included in the British Museum's 'A History of the World in 100 Objects' exhibition.

• UAE

Sherouk Zakaria

sherouk@khaleejtimes.com