A team of Industrial and Systems Engineering students at Khalifa University has won first place in the Industrial Engineering and Operations Management (IEOM) Senior Design Project Competition. The team, who beat out over 100 other student projects, won for their innovative project that describes a streamlined waste collection system.
The team includes Shamma Al-Ali, Khadija Alhmoudi, Rawdha Alawadhi and Khalid Alhosani, and was supervised by Dr. Ali Bouabid, Assistant Professor of Industrial and Systems Engineering, and Dr. Andrei Sleptchenko, Assistant Professor of Industrial and Systems Engineering.
Their paper, titled “Improving Waste Collection & Transportation System,” describes their Senior Design Project, which is an innovative system they designed to improve the waste collection and transportation system in Abu Dhabi in collaboration with Tadweer (Abu Dhabi Waste Management Center).
“Leveraging industrial and systems engineering principles, the students proposed a simulation-based approach to streamline the waste collection process as part of the future strategic vision for waste management in the Emirate of Abu Dhabi,” explained Dr. Bouabid.
Team member Khalid Alhosani said, “As industrial & systems engineers, we are committed to delivering our expertise in a way that will help our society. Directly aligned with the UAE’s 2021 vision, our proposed solutions express a genuine desire to deliver positive, real-world change in the UAE. We hope that our work will contribute to the success of the UAE in increasing the percentage of treated waste.”
The KU team successfully demonstrated problem solving, creative thinking, innovation, project planning, and teamwork through a challenging design and build project. They presented their poster and paper at the International Conference on Industrial Engineering and Operations Management (IEOM), and were awarded at the 2021 IEOM 11th Annual Conference Awards Ceremony on 11 March 2021.
“Our Senior Design Project series have been purposefully designed to showcase our students abilities and skills in real-world applications and industries, with direct benefits to the local community of service providers and supply chain enterprises. This is the second year in a row that our SDP students are recognized in international awards, which is testament to their work’s international impact as well,” said Dr. Mohammed Omar, Professor and Department Chair of Industrial and Systems Engineering.
The IEOM Society International is a non-profit organization that provides academics, researchers, scientists, and practitioners a platform and forum to exchange ideas and provide insights on the latest developments and advancements in the fields of Industrial Engineering and Operations Management. The IEOM conference was held in Singapore this year and welcomed competitors from more than 60 different nationalities.
With a number of waste management projects underway like this one at Masdar Institute, Khalifa University’s sustainability focused research institute, KU is helping to drive the technological and industrial innovation required to meet the UAE’s strategic sustainability goals.
Erica Solomon
Publication Senior Specialist
29 March 2021
