Roudha Bin Bahr

Dubai, UAE, 1 October 2018: “Especially in the United Arab Emirates, there is a lack of women working in the HVAC industry,” said Emirati young achiever, Roudha Bin Bahr. Bin Bahr was recently awarded the first honorary membership at Eurovent Middle East’s inauguration ceremony, celebrating its licence as a non-profit organisation. “As UAE nationals, we are highly dependent on air conditioning and it’s a must that we contribute to the development and growth of the sector,” she said. “HVAC is a large industry and is very crucial to our survival. The next generation of Emiratis should consider the profession,” she added.

HVAC, Bin Bahr said, is a field closer to mechanical engineering and if the subject is introduced to students at university level, it will definitely help them make a better-informed decision. She said: “You can only choose something when you know what it means. I am a chemical engineer, but HVAC tends to fall under mechanical engineering.” Pointing to the use of technology to attract talent to the HVAC industry, she said, “Today technology plays a major role in our lives and if a student was told about the difference in engineering streams, he/she will probably choose mechanical engineering directly.”

Elaborating on how she uses technology to address Millennials, she said, “Instagram is a huge crowd puller and Emiratis in particular love the social media platform.” She added that she has followers from different age groups; however, most of them are university and high school students. Highlighting her efforts towards attracting young talent to the HVAC industry, she said: “Posts that I put up address HVAC-related issues. For instance, I ask questions on troubleshooting HVAC equipment or why a particular piece of equipment might not be cooling.” She said that these posts draw quite a bit of interaction, as she provides the answers on the next day. Bahr added that HVAC, as a subject, can be simplified and made appealing to the younger generation, as they, then, will be able to make better decisions and achieve their goals.