The People Driving Innovation

    1. What inspired you to pursue a career in your field?

It was a coincidental discovery. I pursued a PhD to explore the vibrations of footbridges generated by the force created by the movement of crowds and how people synchronize their movement to moving structures. I got fascinated by the concept of using mathematical equations to model the movement of people and crowds. One curiosity led to another and I ended up doing my PhD in crowd modelling rather than crowd-structure interaction. Then, also coincidentally, I found out that I can actually pursue a career in crowd planning—something I had no idea existed up to that point.

    2. How does working in the UAE influence your professional growth and your approach to your work?

My growth in the UAE is both influenced by where my career got me so far from working between Paris, London and Doha, as well as the current situation in the UAE. Based on deep understanding in crowd science and experience working on iconic projects across the globe including World Cups, Olympics, iconic stadia, masterplans and museums, I am now challenged to use all of that to build on top of what the UAE demands: dream big, innovate, cutting-edge technology. It's exciting times and almost perfect timing for me—building the future of crowd planning based on a solid foundation of theoretical understanding and on-ground experience.

    3. How do you feel your work contributes to shaping the UAE's future?

The UAE takes exceptional care of everyone who lives here. People feel safe, happy and comfortable—they even call customer service happiness centres. And that's how I see my role: contributing to building this country by creating sites, buildings, spaces, stadia, arenas, museums, parks that are designed to accommodate people movement and crowd dynamics—not places that force people to adapt to the constraints of the built environment. I also aim to train local talent. Crowd dynamics is a niche discipline, almost forgotten in many places around the world. London being a centre of excellence, and I want to bring that to the UAE and to the wider GCC region.

    4. In your opinion, what makes the UAE a unique place for engineering and development?

This country makes you feel that the limit is the one you set for yourself. If you have a good idea—more like a brilliant innovative idea—if you believe in yourself, you'll find people willing to support you and turn that idea into reality. People are young, thirsty, ambitious. It's impossible not to feel optimistic and driven here.

    5. What message would you share with the next generation of engineers and professionals building the UAE of tomorrow?

Try everything and make loads of mistakes. Let mistakes be your tool to probe what you like, what you are curious about, and what are your strengths and weaknesses. Always be curious, and WRITE things down. When you are busy you will hear faint whispers about things you don't understand or are curious about—write these down, get your work done, then go back to the list and pursue these whispers. They will take you to wonderful places. This is actually how I discovered my craft and got to love what I do amidst the noise of pursuing my career as a consultant.