1. Becoming an engineer was almost destined

I guess I chose civil engineering because my dad is in maintenance and construction, and my mom is a maths teacher. Maths and physics were always my favourite subjects at school, and then I just ended up gravitating towards civil engineering. I thought I was going to work for a contractor on-site, so I did my master's in construction management at the American University in Dubai (AUD) (where I also studied for my degree). Then I joined AECOM as a transport planner and discovered transport planning: I thought that it was way more interesting and gave me more scope for creativity.

2. Blazing a trail for CIHT in Dubai

I joined CIHT while I was at AECOM and became part of the CIHT Dubai committee in January 2021. I was working with Martin Tillman at AECOM, who was the vice-chair of CIHT in Dubai, and he sparked my interest in joining the committee as a young professional’s representative. After meeting the necessary criteria, CIHT Dubai became a registered professional association in the UAE, and launched at Expo 2020.

We were getting around 100 attendees to our seminars, which was very exciting. We organised an event for Women in Engineering Day in June 2020, where women at all levels of their career talked about their journeys in transport planning, highway engineering and project management.

3. Working in the UK is a new challenge

The UK is completely different from the UAE: the policies, standards and guidelines are different. There's lots of focus here on active travel, which I'm really passionate about. In the UAE, I had the opportunity to work on traffic impact assessments for new developments: here, I'm working on lots of Local Cycling and Walking Infrastructure Plans.

The food is great, the culture is great and Bristol is a really nice vibrant city. I feel like I got really lucky with that.

4. Inclusive and active travel is the future

I'm working on a project where we're auditing train stations for accessibility, which has really opened my eyes to the importance of truly inclusive travel. The participation of disability experts is something that's needed in every project, especially in developing transport services and systems.

I like the attitude in the UK towards active travel, something that could be useful in the Middle East. There are lots of benefits, not just to the environment, but also our physical and mental health.

5. Playing a part in the CIHT’s future

I’d like to bring my experience in CIHT Dubai to the CIHT Council. I’m grateful for the opportunity to contribute to CIHT's direction and progress. I'm really excited about that.

I’ve also joined the Learned Society and Technical Strategy board at CIHT and hopefully that will allow me to provide more strategic direction on technical and policy matters. I’ll be working with professionals with lots of experience in different fields which will be a great learning opportunity.

Yara Al Hamdan was in conversation with Craig Thomas.

Find out more about the CIHT Council and how you can get involved.

Learn more about the sustainable transport courses available on CIHT Learn. 

Yara Al Hamdan

Find out more about the CIHT Council and how you can get involved.

Learn more about the sustainable transport courses available on CIHT Learn.