Creating opportunities for others: Two women's stories of higher education

CLEOPATRA HAMMAD, UAE

Engineer

FAISA ABDI, SWEDEN

Engineer

With this newsletter, we will share with you two amazing women who inspire women who want to follow their dream.

Cleopatra Hammad lives in the United Arab Emirates (UAE). She did her bachelor’s in Electrical and Electronics Engineering in Malaysia, and her master’s in Electrical Engineering at Khalifa University (KU) in Abu Dhabi, UAE. She has worked as a research and teaching assistant in KU, and currently works at the Ministry of Education as a Creative Design and Innovation Teacher (CDI). Cleo has for the last year been applying for doctoral programmes, which requires lots of effort and determination, to propose a high-quality research plan and competitive doctoral application. She was successful in her application, and soon she will be starting her doctoral studies in Finland, where her research focus will be about Computer-Supported Collaborative Learning (CSCL) and Educational Data Mining (EDM). 

Faisa Abdi lives in Sweden and she did her bachelor’s in engineering at Dalarna University in Sweden. She has worked as an energy consult at Tyréns AB, and as an energy coordinator in Uppsala Water & Waste. Together with friends she has recently started a QC-renewable-energy company, which works both in Sweden and East Africa. The aim is to find sustainable solutions in the environment and the energy industry, especially energy efficiency, solar energy and waste management. Faisa is also engaged in civil society and together with friends she has also started an association called MotivationHope. The aim is to arrange different activates that empower youth.

Higher education not only gives you the possibility for a prosperous career and financial security, but it also contributes to personal development, sense of accomplishment and pursuing your passion. We have asked Cleo and Faisa why it was important to have higher education. 

Cleopatra: “When it comes to education and learning, I’m a person who loves to learn new things and to share my knowledge with others. When I was working as a teaching assistant in KU, I started to develop an interest towards teaching as I saw it as a truly noble job. Since then, I decided to continue my higher education and be able to instruct and advise students during their university life which is the most crucial time for their future career. Besides that, due to my interest in education and technology, I find higher education an opportunity to conduct research in educational technologies field where I will have various resources that will support me to implement my ideas and make a difference in how we teach in any educational institute. 

“I also see higher education a way to empower me as a woman. It’s a challenge. And I love challenges. I had lots of down moments during my master’s studies, however I was able to overcome them which built a different level of confidence in me. Higher education is not an easy path, but if you really want it to make difference in this world and yourself, you will surely find it rewarding.” 

Faisa: “I saw a higher education like big investment for my future. I always knew that I have to get an education to pursue my dreams. Education is not only about the legitimacy you receive when you graduate, or about the skills and knowledge you acquire during your studies; it is about the opportunities that start appearing while studying, it is about the network you start building with the professionals in the field, as well as your colleagues, the future professionals, and ultimately, it is about the unforgettable experience you have as a student. Gender equality and diversity have been very important for me. That motivates me even more to be active in different platform where there is lack of people like me, a female energy engineer, Muslim and having a foreign background. I have a vision to build bridges between people and countries.”

We know that role models are important when pursuing higher education, but not all people have role models or mentors who can inspire, influence or support them. Cleo and Faisa have had different experiences, while Cleo had support and role models, Faisa lacked these and she is now trying to be a role model for many youths. This is what they answered when we asked them about who inspired them and what support they had or lacked.

Cleopatra: “Since I was in school, I always liked math and physics, especially when it comes to the basics of electronics and electrical engineering. We used to have simple calculations and theories, and I was always excited to know more and go to the lab to experiment and apply the theories we studied in classrooms. Besides that, we had a toolbox at home with multimeters, wires, basic electronics and soldering tools since my dad is electronics engineer. I used to watch him while fixing things at the house or even teaching us about the devices and components in the toolbox. I believe being in such environment developed my interest towards technology in general. 

“My parents and sisters are the most significant support I got during my studies. They watched me struggling in my master’s degree as it was truly tough, and they kept supporting me throughout the years. My happy moment was when I saw them extremely proud in my graduation day.”

Faisa: “Born in Somalia and as a child seeing the struggle, poverty, and war personally, I always had a dream, vision, and hope that one day I could do something that would help those vulnerable areas and the people who do not have the luck and opportunity for a better and safer life.

“It has been lacking and lacks still electricity a bigger part in Somalia like other developing countries and many of families still using gaslights. The gas lights expel carbon monoxide (CPO) that can be deadly when absorbed into the blood. I knew with education I could make changes for both climate changes and health risks. Trying to be a part of the solution and provide all the support I could, I became motivated to start my education in engineering.  I chose engineering because I want to choose an education that I can make more impact for the people and the environment.

“When I was young, I lacked a role model that I could relate to, one with the same skin colour or religion. Like most minority groups, I have had bad experiences during my upbringing in Sweden. Even though I had so much question in my mind, I couldn't ask a person that I know will judge me because of my religion or origin. I have had a strong desire and passion to get involved in social projects and organizations that empower women and I have been doing this since I was 19 years old.”

We also asked Cleopatra and Faisa what contributions they would like to make with their education:

Cleopatra: “As I mentioned before, my focus is Computer-Supported Collaborative Learning (CSCL) and Educational Data Mining (EDM). This means using data mining techniques to support collaborative learning settings in classrooms. My aim is to theoretically build a model of the proposed idea, and then work on its implementation with a team of educators and engineers. My vision about this idea is an adaptive platform that integrates all the given data by the students and teachers, where the platform will adaptively grow with each student throughout school’s years according to their skills and learning capabilities.“

Faisa: “Make a better world using knowledge and experience. As an employee, entrepreneur and social commitment, I want to contribute to a better society. As an energy engineer, you are involved in various types of assignments linked to energy. Energy is a broad area where you get to collaborate and meet several different actors as well as the academy. It is exciting to hear how everyone thinks about the energy issue. By working with sustainable energy production and energy efficiency, you also contribute to reducing the climate impact in the world; energy and climate are linked. When you use renewable energy and reduce energy use, you also reduce the climate impact. I want to build bridges between people and countries. I have a vision to increase electrification and energy supply in East Africa. Which also improving soil fertility for agriculture in a sustainable (example for watering using Solar Pumps instead diesel generators) way.”

Cleopatra and Faisa’s advice for women who want to pursue their dream in engineering and higher education:

Cleopatra: “Be creative. Engineering is not only about formulas and numbers. It’s an approach to enlighten your mind with innovative and practical ideas. If you think you have that engineering mindset, then read about it, watch videos about different sectors of engineering, ask engineers around you and via social media, connect to engineers in LinkedIn and initiate conversations to ask about their experiences and motivations, we would love to answer your questions and help you. Simply, don’t be afraid of engineering!” 

Faisa: “The need for more women in the energy and other technical sectors is very high. Many companies also recognize the importance of diversity and gender balance in order to develop faster and aim to improve in new hires. As a female engineer, you will contribute to yourself, to your society and make the world to a better place. It is attractive to have technical training because the companies have seen the importance to have diversity in their organization in order to compete with other companies. And you will have a lot of fun as well. You can bridge between people and countries. Especially as a woman belonging to minority groups, you are extra attractive because you fulfill two things, both diversity and equality.”

Let us never be betrayed into saying we have finished our education; because that would mean we had stopped growing.” Julia H. Gulliver