NYU Abu Dhabi (NYUAD) Class of 2020 alumni Muhammad Shehryar Hamid and DoovarahaMaheswarasarma have been awarded the Erasmus Mundus Scholarship, which will commence in September 2020. Hamid will be joining the first edition of Erasmus Mundus’ Decentralized Smart Energy Systems (DENSYS) program, while Maheswarasarma will be taking part in the Safe and Reliable Nuclear Applications (SARENA) program.
Originally from Lahore, Pakistan, Hamid recently graduated with a Bachelors of Science with a major in Mechanical Engineering and has a keen interest in renewable energy, aerospace engineering, and healthcare technology. Hamid has represented NYUAD in several engineering competitions in the last few years, and has undertaken many travel and exploration opportunities as part of his academic journey.
DENSYS is a two-year joint master’s degree program, built by the University of Lorraine in France, the Royal Institute of Technology in Sweden, the Polytechnic University of Catalonia in Spain, and the Polytechnic Institute of Torino in Italy. The program aims to provide training in decentralized smart energy systems, which play a major role in the massive integration of renewable energy sources into energy systems and the transition towards a low-carbon society. The interdisciplinary program aims to educate top skilled engineers and to train future scientists.
Hamid said: “NYUAD has provided me with an invaluable platform to be a part of many rewarding and inspiring learning experiences that have led me to be where I am today. Every now and then life sends exciting opportunities your way, and as I eagerly embark on the first iteration of the DENSYS program, I advise others to reach out and grab unique opportunities and then hold on to them tightly. From my own experience, I have found that sometimes the most unplanned and unexpected experiences can result in the most memorable events of a lifetime.”
“In the future, I want to pursue a PhD in a related field, and then aid in the development and expansion of renewable energy systems in Pakistan. I believe the DENSYS program will set me in the right direction to achieve these goals,” Hamid added.
Srilankan Tamil DoovarahaMaheswarasarma from Tamil Nadu in India also graduated in May 2020, with a Bachelors of Science with a major in Mechanical Engineering from NYUAD. Maheswarasarma has worked on and led teams for various projects ranging from bioengineering to haptics and augmented reality. Her interest in renewable and sustainable energy alternatives came as a result of her NYUAD Capstone project, where she designed a waste to energy facility based in Abu Dhabi that used Microwave Induced Plasma Gasification (MIPG) to convert municipal solid waste to synthetic gas (syngas) that generates energy.
Maheswarasarma, said: “Working on my Capstone got me interested in renewable and sustainable energy alternatives, and I developed an interest in nuclear energy due to its potential and the risks associated with it. This interest led me to apply to be part of the SARENA Master’s program.”
The two-year SARENA master’s program aims to develop scientific, technical and management skills enabling engineers to work in all domains related to nuclear energy and applications with a strong international culture. It addresses the important issues of safe management of radioactive waste and installations dismantlement and decommissioning. This program is built by EcoleNationaleSupérieure Mines-Telecom Bretagne Pays de la Loire, IMT Atlantique, France, Universidad Politécnica de Madrid (UPM), Spain, Lappeenranta University of Technology (LUT), Finland, and Univerza v Ljubljani (UL), Slovenia.
In the future, Maheswarasarma aims to work on improving nuclear waste management systems in India and the UAE.
The Erasmus Mundus Scholars Program aims to enhance the quality of higher education and promote dialogue and understanding between people and cultures through mobility and academic cooperation.
