Siemens donates industrial communications technology to engineering students in UAE

Siemens has donated industrial communications equipment to the American University of Sharjah, enabling engineering students in the UAE to gain hands-on experience with the most up-to-date technology for rugged communications in harsh environments. 

The company’s Ruggedcom portfolio will be implemented at a demonstration substation in the American University of Sharjah’s laboratory as part of a Smart Grid, allowing undergraduate and post-graduate students to learn more about the construction, operation and maintenance of essential electrical infrastructure. RUGGEDCOM is already widely in use in substations across the Middle East, ensuring a reliable communication network.

“A robust, reliable and safe electricity network is the foundation of a strong and prosperous economy, and we believe it’s important for engineering students to receive hands-on experience on the latest equipment,” said Uwe Troeger, Senior Executive Vice President, Process Industries and Drives and Digital Factory divisions, Siemens Middle East. “At Siemens we work with educational institutions to ensure students have direct access to training and technology, and we see this as an essential part of developing local talent to build a diversified and flexible knowledge economy here in the UAE.”

The RUGGEDCOM portfolio is designed for industrial communications in harsh environments, working reliably in virtually all types of mission-critical networks such as substation automation, self-healing power grids and “Smart Grid” systems, intelligent transport systems for traffic management and railway control, as well as process control and manufacturing automation systems. RUGGEDCOM products also offer error-free operation in environments with high electromagnetic interference, and operate over a wide temperature range (-40ºC to +85ºC).

“We are grateful to Siemens for this generous donation to AUS. We deeply value our partnership with Siemens, and the RUGGEDCOM portfolio of communications equipment will significantly contribute to our practice-based education programs in electrical engineering,” said Dr. Richard Schoephoerster, Dean of the College of Engineering at AUS. “This contribution exemplifies the strength of AUS’ partnerships with leading companies in the region which translates into value far beyond just the educational benefits for our students but also to a close cross-learning relationship between AUS and our strategic industry partners”, added Charles A. Diab, Executive Director of the Office of Advancement and Alumni Affairs.

Earlier this year Siemens also announced it would donate up to EUR100 million in software licenses to universities in the UAE, enabling the company’s Product Lifecycle Management and MindSphere software to be used for academic and institutional purposes, supporting the country’s digital transformation. 

Siemens AG (Berlin and Munich) is a global technology powerhouse that has stood for engineering excellence, innovation, quality, reliability and internationality for more than 165 years. The company is active in more than200 countries, focusing on the areas of electrification, automation and digitalization. One of the world’s largest producers of energy-efficient, resource-saving technologies, Siemens is No. 1 in offshore wind turbine construction, a leading supplier of gas and steam turbines for power generation, a major provider of power transmission solutions and a pioneer in infrastructure solutions as well as automation, drive and software solutions for industry. The company is also a leading provider of medical imaging equipment – such as computed tomography and magnetic resonance imaging systems – and a leader in laboratory diagnostics as well as clinical IT. In fiscal 2015, which ended on September 30, 2015, Siemens generated revenue of €75.6 billion and net income of €7.4 billion. At the end of September 2015, the company had around 348,000 employees worldwide. Further information is available on the Internet at www.siemens.com.