- Mansoor Al Awar: “We strive to become an inspiring model for universities around the world to adopt quality-of-life concepts within academic, research, and scientific environments.”
In celebration of the World Day for Safety and Health at Work on April 28, Hamdan bin Mohammed Smart University (HBMSU) reiterated its commitment to uphold the highest international standards of health and safety in managing and operating facilities in accordance with the WELL Health Safety Rating System. This is in line with HBMSU’s efforts to create a safe and integrated learning environment that encourages creativity, innovation, and excellence.
This commitment follows HBMSU’s recent achievement of becoming the first academic establishment in the UAE and the Middle East to be awarded a WELL Health Safety Rating Seal for its university campus, after meeting all the requirement for the rating system set by the International WELL Building Institute (IWBI). This was made possible by HBMSU’s efforts of taking advanced measures to ensure the health and safety of its learners, faculty and administrative staff, and visitors during and after the Covid-19 pandemic.
HBMSU is continuing its proactive efforts to follow the international best practices adopted in the field of safety, sustainability, and innovation, by ensuring the best quality of air and water and the highest levels of sanitation for classrooms, academic facilities, and administrative offices on campus, in addition to guaranteeing the effectiveness of emergency programs and facilitating direct access to health and preventive services resources. Moreover, the WELL Health Safety Rating System focuses on operational policies, maintenance protocols, stakeholder engagement, emergency plans to address the emerging challenges during and after the COVID-19 pandemic, and the best ways to effectively handle health and safety issues in the future.
Asserting that upholding the highest standards of sustainability, health, and safety is at the forefront of the university’s strategic priorities, Dr. Mansoor Al Awar, Chancellor of HBMSU, said that the university is working towards creating a unique learning environment that encourages creativity and innovation within a sustainable building, guaranteeing the well-being of leaners, academics, and visitors.
He said: “We have taken it upon ourselves to make all the necessary efforts to ensure that HBMSU complies with the requirements of the WELL Health Safety Rating System. This is part of our ongoing mission to continuously upgrade the quality, effectiveness, and sustainability of smart university facilities, and in line with our vision to reshape the future of higher education based on three main pillars - innovation, disruption, and transformation. Our goal is to build a perfect environment that would produce a knowledgeable and innovative generation which is able to foresee and create the future, as per the wise directives of H.H. Sheikh Hamdan bin Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Crown Prince of Dubai and President of the University.”
“We are proud of being the first locally and regionally to obtain the WELL Health Safety Rating Seal. This achievement encourages us to continue to improve HBMSU’s sustainable and competitive features in line with the national directive to achieve the goals of the 50 of guaranteeing sustainable development for the next generations. HBMSU is a leading academic establishment that provides the best education for the creatives and innovators of the future. We aim to build on that and consolidate our position as an inspiring model for universities around the world to adopt the quality-of-life concepts within academic, research, and scientific environments,” Al Awar concluded.
The WELL Health Safety Rating System is based on a set of specialised criteria that includes materials used in construction, movement space, temperatures, sound levels, light levels, mental health, air quality, nutrition, water, and the quality of social life of employees from various aspects, making it a global standard and an effective tool for measuring and promoting health in work environments around the world.