Ready to Shape
the Future of Water?

Abdalla’s curiosity about water began with a simple observation: mangrove leaves are not salty. Inspired by nature, he founded a research group exploring mangrove-based desalination. At Masdar, he has also helped take a renewable energy project from concept to delivery.

Ali studies chemical engineering at Khalifa University and has gained experience at Stanford and Oceaneering. His team explored how carbon dioxide could turn desalination brine into useful carbonates, finding new potential in what is usually treated as waste.

Amna’s commitment to water began in Cameroon and Madagascar, where she carried bottled water to drink safely. Today, she leads the water portfolio at Global South Utilities and has represented the UAE in COP30 gender negotiations. She believes clean water should be a right for everyone.

Aya is an engineer at DEWA who led Hydro Insight, a smart water project recognised internationally in 2024. She sees water, energy and data as part of the same picture, using technology to understand consumption and help make every drop count.

Hind studies artificial intelligence at Mohamed bin Zayed University of Artificial Intelligence and has interned at ADIA Lab. She also co-founded Pearls & Palms, an Emirati student organisation. Her interest in water technology comes with a question: who gets a say when smart systems decide how water is shared?

Hoor has worked with the UAE negotiating team at COP27 and COP28 and now works at Dubai Future Foundation. An NYU Abu Dhabi Water Ambassador, she asks how to make water scarcity visible when the infrastructure we rely on keeps it out of sight.

Hoor founded HAAY to explore turning air into water. She has engaged UAE manufacturers and secured banking support for a pilot, bringing partners together to move an ambitious water idea towards reality.

Mohammed is a strategy consultant at Bain & Company who studied economics at King’s College London and led its UAE society. He sees groundwater depletion as a challenge of shared incentives, and believes collaboration can be as important as technology in finding solutions.

Muzoon sees water as more than a single challenge: it connects communities, resources and decisions across many sectors. Drawn to systems thinking, she wants to understand those connections and turn them into practical, lasting impact.

Rashid is a chemical engineer working on a major desalination plant at ACWA while studying space sciences. A first-place winner at the 2025 German-Emirati Sustainability Conference, he also enjoys sharing Emirati culture with international visitors.

Reem’s name comes from the sand gazelle, a personal reminder of our connection to nature. A researcher and WiSER Pioneer, she believes future water solutions should draw on traditional knowledge, including the falaj, as well as new ideas.

Saif is an Assistant Vice President at KfW IPEX-Bank, with experience studying and working in Spain and Germany. He has persuaded shareholders to back desalination plants and sees a region full of water projects waiting to be financed.

Salma is an interior design student at Zayed University, as well as a diver, photographer and artist. She transforms marine waste into art and has exhibited her underwater photography. She hopes to use creative exhibitions to build awareness of water and marine conservation.

Shaima has helped take more than 30 initiatives from idea to live service at the Central Bank of the UAE. She sees water as a story of value, from pearl divers to AI, and is interested in what finance can contribute to its future.

Zayed studied the natural world and now puts that knowledge into practice at AD Ports Group, where he works on environmental sustainability and decarbonisation. An alumnus of the Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Scholars Program, he sees water as closely connected to environmental and human health.