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Associated Press
03-03-2025
- Business
- Associated Press
Dr. Ahmed Mohsen Mohamed Sadek Wins A 2025 Global Recognition Award
Dr. Ahmed Mohsen Mohamed Sadek, Area Manager at Altorath International Engineering Consultants, has received a 2025 Global Recognition Award. His achievements in sustainable infrastructure development, project management methodologies and engineering leadership have established new industry standards across the Middle East. New York, NY, United States, March 3, 2025 -- Dr. Ahmed Mohsen Mohamed Sadek, a distinguished engineering leader, has received a 2025 Global Recognition Award for his outstanding contributions to engineering management and sustainable infrastructure development across the Middle East. This recognition highlights his central role in advancing regional project delivery standards. Photo Courtesy of Dr. Ahmed Mohsen Mohamed Sadek As area manager at Altorath International Engineering Consultants, Dr. Sadek leads initiatives in quality management systems, sustainable construction practices and modern project management methodologies. His guidance has improved operational efficiencies and established benchmarks for excellence in the engineering sector. Dr. Sadek focuses on combining advanced technology with sustainable practices, which helps projects exceed client expectations while reducing environmental impact. Dr. Sadek's academic achievements include a PhD in Project Management from the British University in Dubai, an MSc in Business Strategy Leadership and Change from Heriot-Watt University, and a Master of Engineering Management from the United Arab Emirates University. He also holds a BSc in Civil Engineering from Abu Dhabi University. His professional credentials include fellowships and licenses from prestigious institutions such as the Institute of Managers and Leaders (IML), the Chartered Management Institute (CMI), the Association for Project Management (APM), and the Australian Institute of Project Management (AIPM). Leadership Excellence and Industry Contributions Dr. Sadek excels in technical advancement and leadership qualities, including strategic implementation, ethical decision-making, and team inspiration. His proficiency in fostering creativity within his field has earned him a score of 4 out of 5 in this area. Under his direction, Altorath International Engineering Consultants has completed construction projects exceeding $1 billion in value, cutting delays significantly through exact tracking methods and resource allocation. Dr. Sadek's research, published in the Journal of Entrepreneurship and Project Management, has introduced advanced methodologies like system dynamics and Monte Carlo simulations for life cycle cost analysis. These advancements have enhanced financial planning accuracy and risk management across major infrastructure projects in the UAE. His construction cash flow models and risk S-curves provide practical tools for stakeholders, strengthening financial planning during preconstruction phases. In 2024, Dr. Sadek earned several prestigious awards, including the Fellow Membership (FIML) from the Institute of Managers and Leaders (IML), the Certified Practicing Manager (CPMgr) status from IML and fellowships from the Chartered Management Institute (CMI) and the Association for Project Management (APM). The Australian Institute of Project Management (AIPM) selected him as the Middle East Chapter Committee Lead. Dr. Sadek reflects on his achievements and emphasizes the value of continuous learning and professional development. He states, 'My pursuit of advanced education in my field has equipped me with the knowledge, skills, and expertise necessary to excel in my profession. Through earning higher degrees and securing prestigious fellowships and licenses, I have shown my dedication to continuous learning and professional development.' The construction industry will experience robust growth in 2025, propelled by large-scale infrastructure projects and sustainability priorities. Dr. Sadek's mastery of sustainable construction practices places him at the lead of this development, with his global methodologies shaping project management strategies. About Global Recognition Awards Global Recognition Awards is an international organization that recognizes exceptional companies and individuals who have significantly contributed to their industry.
Filipino Times
22-02-2025
- General
- Filipino Times
Emirati professor secretly worked as taxi driver, says Filipinos are polite and always give tips
An Emirati professor secretly worked as a taxi driver and discovered that Filipinos were always polite and consistently gave tips. In an Instagram post by Dennis Mallari, Ammar Shams, an Emirati law professor at the British University in Dubai, shared that he worked as a taxi driver for two months in 2023. Shams revealed that he decided to drive a taxi to understand Dubai residents and citizens more as well as the city where he spent most of his life. Over the two months of working as a taxi driver, however, one certain nationality caught his attention. 'There was one behavior that stands out. One nationality, one group of people, consistently and without fail, gave me a tip,' he said. Although the tips were small in amounts, he was amazed by the consistency of Filipinos giving tips. 'Small as it may be, it may have been two dirhams or five dirhams, but every single time a Filipino got in my taxi, they gave me a tip,' Shams said. Another thing that Shams noticed is that Filipinos always treated him politely. 'The other aspect that I found very refreshing was that they were amongst the most polite and respectful passengers I had,' Shams shared. 'They consistently referred to me as Kuya, which I will always keep dear to my heart,' he added. At the end of the video, he expressed his appreciation to all the Filipinos out there. 'Thank you, Filipinos, for being who you are,' Shams concluded. Watch the full video here: View this post on Instagram A post shared by Dennis Mallari (@dennisbmallari)
The National
31-01-2025
- The National
Emirati professor becomes a Dubai taxi driver to explore what drives us
When Ammar Shams was in his fifties, he and his wife drove from Dubai to London. It took them two weeks, and they went from the UAE to Saudi Arabia, Jordan, Syria, Turkey, Bulgaria, Romania, Hungary, Austria, Germany, Belgium and then England. That is one example of what the Emirati professor calls the 'exploratory side' of his life, the other two being the professional aspect – working in oil and gas followed by HSBC – and the academic aspect – teaching family law twice a week at the British University in Dubai after retiring from the corporate world, 'in order to keep the grey cells active and alive'. This exploratory side is the part he says he enjoys the most, and what led him pursue a master's in international comparative law at the age of 40, a PhD in the intersectionality between gender and Sharia at the age of 50 – and, most recently, a stint as a Dubai taxi driver a few months before his 60th birthday. 'It's safe to say that I enjoy driving,' Shams says with a smile. 'I de-stress by getting in the car and just driving, ideally in the desert or an open space where there aren't any buildings or other cars that get in the way.' Of course, the life of a taxi driver entails quite the opposite. But it enabled Shams to meet people on their own terms. 'I have always been curious about people. I want to find out more about the human condition, the human mind. But I realised, unfortunately, every time anybody interacts with another person, there's always effectively a filter. 'When I meet people, the first thing they see, especially if I am wearing my kandura, is 'old Arab man', and therefore their conversation or interaction will be on the basis of 'old Arab man'. I wanted to talk to people without that filter,' he explains. Shams adds of his decision to train as a cab driver: 'I also wanted to know more about the city I have called home for 60 years. So I know my Dubai, I know Barsha, Jumeirah, Mall of the Emirates, DIFC. That's my world, right? A world where all my friends are effectively me. They've studied what I studied, lived where I've lived, experienced what I've experienced. It's one-dimensional. 'I wanted to see Dubai through the eyes of others. I wanted to meet people who would be themselves when talking to me. I wanted to have fun, but more than anything else, I wanted to learn. I had no idea what to expect.' The process comprised a two-week course alongside 34 other drivers-in-training, followed by an English language test and then two months on the road – or standing in the taxi ranks to pick up passengers from malls and hotels – during Shams' daily 4pm to 4am shifts. 'Those two weeks alone were worth the entire exercise,' Shams says of the training. 'It blew my mind. Of the other 34, two were lawyers, at least six had engineering degrees, others had graduated from business courses. They were phenomenally skilled, qualified people whose aspiration was to be a taxi driver in Dubai to earn a salary of Dh4,000-odd that they could send home to their kids.' Over the course of two months, taxi driver Shams learnt much about the human mind and spirit. He also revealed one colleague refused to believe he is an Emirati citizen, even scrutinising his Emirates ID and driver's licence photographs before commanding him to 'return the wallet someone obviously dropped in your taxi back to the RTA office'. Of the dozens of passengers he picked up and interacted with over the weeks, Shams says he did not have a single bad experience. While a handful did not seem interested in engaging in conversation, many others let their guard down almost instantly. 'I tend to get along with people and I like talking to them, and most were happy to unload. I got to know more about some of them in a 20-minute ride than I know about my closest friends,' says Shams. 'The anonymity of a conversation with someone you are almost guaranteed to never cross paths with again is liberating.' Shams also made a conscious decision not to take on a different persona. 'I didn't want to create a caricature of anybody. I would have found that offensive. So I promised myself I'd always be me and answer questions about myself honestly, but only if anybody asked.' The end game, he says, was to address concepts of bias and stereotypes. Drawing parallels between a peer he met at university and the drivers he trained with, Shams says: 'At my student digs in London, I got talking to a guy who, after asking if I was Arab, went on to tell me he was Israeli. Halfway through our conversation he said: 'Sorry, I need to stop you for a moment. I told you I'm from Israel and you didn't flinch or react the way many Arabs would when they hear the word Israelis.' 'And I told him: 'I'm going to find out about your politics later. If you're a decent human being, I'm not going to put the burden of your birth on you; it is not yours. As it turns out, he was the most pro-Palestinian person I knew on campus.' Likewise, says Shams of the lawyers, engineers and 'incredible human beings' doubling as taxi drivers in Dubai: 'It was probably the single most humbling experience of my life. The human spirit and the amount of common decency I saw was phenomenal. 'It proved to me that stereotypes are man-made, and rarely based on anything other than experiential issues, but that can be a false perspective. The blinkers we put on ourselves often make us see only what we believe we have to or want to see. I like to make people think twice about what they think, and this was part of that.' As for what is next on his exploratory journey, Shams says with a chuckle: 'In a perfect world, and if I could get away with it, I want to drive an Uber in London to compare a similar experience in two different worlds.' Ammar Shams will discuss his experience being a Dubai taxi driver and the insights he gained by connecting with diverse lives on February 2 at Dubai Festival City, as part of Emirates Airline Literature Festival
