ABU DHABI – Shamma al Qassim boarded a plane bound for the US as the first Emirati woman to become a NASA intern. On Sunday, Reem Ketait will become the second.
Ms al Qassim, 19, along with two other Emirati students – Hazza Bani Malek, 20, and Hamad Rajab, 21 – spent 10 weeks training alongside NASA engineers as part of the Educational Associates programme.
Until a few months ago, the scheme admitted only US citizens. But thanks to an agreement between NASA and the RAK-based Arab Youth Venture Foundation, sponsored by Mubadala – the Abu Dhabi Government’s investment company – Emirati students may well become a regular feature at the Ames Research Centre in Silicon Valley, California.
Ms Ketait, 23, is the only woman among the 10 students who will soon begin the 15-week NASA programme.
With a degree in chemical engineering from the UAE University in Al Ain, her passion for discovery in the field of renewable energy “aligned exactly and perfectly” with the opportunity to train at NASA, she said.
“Renewable energy is a very dynamic field, at a time when we are all thinking in green terms, in what’s next, in what our future energy sources will be,” she said.
“No one has the answer yet, and as a student I am being given the chance to work with researchers and scientists while they search for the answer, and actually have some input. This is a once in a lifetime chance.”
She hopes, once she returns home, to earn a master’s degree in renewable energy.
Ms al Qassim, who will soon begin the third year of her computer engineering degree at the American University in Sharjah, agreed that the experience had been “unique, one-of-a-kind”.
She added: “I’m sure Reem already knows this, but it is so true: nothing will resonate like this experience did.”
“The experience at NASA made me realise there are so many more applications I can do with my major, and numerous fields of interest.
“To be able to go into the workforce and apply that and use what I learned in the work area of my choosing, is a passion and a dream.
“At NASA, it’s not just about space; it’s about engineering and science and all the many things you can do with that.”
Lisa LaBonte, the chief executive of the Arab Youth Venture Foundation, said a major benefit of the programme was the chance for the students to work with NASA research scientists.
“No one does education or innovation quite like NASA does,” she said.
Seminars, conferences and lectures at universities such as Stanford and Berkeley added to the “prestigious experience”, said Ms al Qassim.
“Stanford also had an iftar every night that I was able to attend when Ramadan started,” she said.
Ms Ketait will spend the last few days of Ramadan and Eid far from her family, but she insists she is not worried.
“I was so surprised to see in my orientation package a list of prayer times, which was very touching,” she said.
“They attend to the tiniest of details, which shows how much importance there is in this programme, that they have bothered to understand our background and build these types of bridges.”
She was keen for a chance to give back to her country, a sentiment echoed by Ms al Qassim.
Ms al Ketait said: “Shamma and I were both educated our whole lives in the UAE, and yet we are able and ready to be in an environment that has a different language, different culture.
“It is a reflection of how the diversity of the UAE has made us better prepared for something like this, from always being surrounded by people from all over the world.”
Her worries have nothing to do with being alone for Eid, or spending 15 weeks away, or proving herself at NASA’s Sustainability Base while she learns about what it takes to make renewable energy efficient and economical. Her main concern is what to pack.
“My mother wants to send Arabic coffee and dates and other local things with me so I can plan a cultural night for the people I will be meeting,” said Ms Ketait, “but I need that space for coats.”
Ms al Qassim nodded in agreement. “The weather is wonderful there, but you will need warm clothes. Don’t worry if you like to wear heels, you’ll be close to where you work if you end up staying in building 19.
“You won’t believe it’s happening to you, not even when the plane lands,” Ms al Qassim said to the woman who will follow in her footsteps.
“You’re right, I think it’s just going to be a big blur,” agreed Ms Ketait.
Ms al Qassim grinned and shrugged. “Still, you’ll love it.”
© The National
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