At the time of writing the Holy month of Ramadan has come to an end and the region is celebrating Eid al-Fitr also called the “Festival of Breaking the Fast”. The Moon Sighting Committee of the Ministry of Awqaf and Islamic Affairs announced that Tuesday 4th June 2019 welcomes the first day of the Eid Al Fitr. The day of Eid, therefore, falls on the first day of the month of Shawwal. The date for the start of any lunar Hijri month varies based on when the new moon is sighted by local religious authorities, so the exact day of celebration varies by locality. The second and more religious festival Eid al-Adha also called the ‘Feast of the Sacrifice’, will fall on 11th August 2019.
The period of Ramadan and subsequent holidays are generally a quieter period for business in the region, however there are many major projects on-going and due to start over the coming months. The UAE has seen a boost in the construction industry in recent years as part of preparation for the upcoming Dubai Expo 2020 – the first to be held in Middle East. This monumental event promises to be a vital platform for the UAE and the entire GCC to showcase its innovative solutions, services and practices. This will be a positive opportunity to demonstrate more efficient, economical and eco-friendly facilities management and as we know buildings `in-use’ require robust fire safety management – a theme we want to capture in future meetings and workshops. It is anticipated that the market will continue to benefit from robust growth in the coming years – highlighting sustained business streams from buildings that have already been developed, as well as the positive market influence of unique platforms like Dubai Expo 2020.
The key drivers behind industry growth all relate to the growing pipeline of development projects across the region: government-backed infrastructure projects (metro & rail projects, airports) in UAE, strategic projects such as Expo 2020 and mega projects such as Neom and Red Sea Tourism Projects in KSA. These projects all form integral parts of the strategic visions of countries in the region, aimed at developing national infrastructure capacities and diversifying economies. The branch remains well positioned to support regional members involved within the fire industry.
IFE October Examinations
On 7th October 2019 the local branch will be hosting an examination centre in Dubai, UAE. A copy of the timetable for these exams is included below for information. This year the IFE has added an additional examination to the list previously offered in the October session, namely:
ν The Level 2 Certificate in Passive Fire Protection. Information on this new qualification introduced in March 2019 is available at: https://www.ife.org.uk/Passive-Fire-Protection
Please note the information on the timetable regarding the Level 3 Certificate units 3&4. Candidates who wish to sit both the Level 3 Certificate, Fire Safety and the Level 3 Certificate, Management and Administration examinations will be able to take both of these papers during the afternoon.
Meetings and workshops
The branch has been in discussion with the Bentley Digital Advancement Academy in Dubai to identify how we can hold local meetings including CPD sessions and offer a digital platform for members and perspective members to participate in an event even if they cannot attend the venue in person and we look forward to progressing this in the coming months.
The Bentley Institute partners with industry organizations, design-build firms, and owner-operators to advance project delivery and asset lifecycle best practices through the Digital Advancement Academies. The facilities at the Dubai Academy are first class and offers an exciting route to provide IFE members and sponsors a robust and tested means to communicate and engage on fire safety topics across the region and internationally. Along with the Dubai, there are other academies located in Houston, USA; London, UK; Pune, India; Singapore and online/virtual access is available. Meetings can be hosted simultaneously at all academies or online at the local academy.
The aim of the Digital Advancement Academies is to ensure that the latest knowledge is shared and exchanged within the industry, creating a lasting legacy that benefits society. The Academies setting encourages industry leaders to collaborate and share their expertise and experience. In this way, Digital Advancement Academies act as catalysts to support and align the people, processes, and technology behind the significant benefits of going digital. By collaborating, educating and on-boarding all professionals within the built environment this will pave a route to sharing international best practice, for the IFE this would obviously be inline with our mission statement:
‘To promote, encourage and improve the science, practice and knowledge of Fire Extinction, Fire Prevention, and Fire Engineering as well as providing a platform for the sharing of ideas within the membership of the IFE and the community at large’.
AGM, International Conference and International President’s Dinner 2019
The 2019 AGM, International Conference and International President’s Dinner will take place this year at the Jurys Inn Waterfront, Brighton on 17-18th July 2019. Anyone wishing to attend the AGM, the International Conference and/or International President’s Dinner can do so by booking online. The theme of this year’s conference focuses on ‘Professionalism and ethics in the fire sector’.
In addition to plenary sessions, the two-day conference will feature interactive workshops which will be bookable at delegate registration.The conference programme can be view at: https://www.ife.org.uk/write/MediaUploads/International_Conference_DRAFT_programme.pdf
Latest News from HQ
On the 3rd June 2019 the Board of Directors of the Institution of Fire Engineers announced that they have appointed Roy Bishop OBE QFSM FIFireE as Acting Chief Executive following the resignation of the previous Chief Executive. From the GCC UAE Branch we wish Roy all the best in this role and offer our future support.
For more information, go to www.ife.org.uk/branches/GCC-UAE
About the Author
Branch President, GCC Branch – The Institution of Fire Engineers.
