Dr Muhammad Wakil Shahzad from Pakistan won jointly the Innovative Individual Award –Youth Award category at the 2nd cycle of the Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum Global Water Award. HH Sheikh Ahmed bin Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Chairman of the Dubai Media Council, has awarded the winners at a special event held in Dubai.
Dr Shahzad jointly won the Innovative Individual Award – Youth award which is worth USD 20,000. His project, ’24/7 Solar Desalination’ is a hybrid desalination cycle that combines the adsorption (AD) cycle with conventional multi-effect distillation (MED) system to overcome the operational limitations of MED. Hybrid MEDAD cycle water production is 2-3 times higher than conventional MED. The technology uses solar energy or wasted thermal energy.
"The UAE attaches great importance to building capacities of the youth and engages them in achieving the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) 2030. This is in accordance with the wise leadership of His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice President and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai. The Award encourages research centres, individuals, and innovators to improve the lives of millions of people around the world, that comes from the UAE. We are glad to see the large turnout of applications over the past two cycles of the award. This emphasises the role of the UAE as a platform for innovation and an incubator for creative minds from around the world," said HE Saeed Mohammed Al Tayer, Chairman of the Board of Trustees of Suqia.
H.E. Ghulam Dastgir, Ambassador of Pakistan to the UAE congratulated Dr. Muhammad Wakil Shahzad. The Ambassador said that his innovative project is an important contribution to water resource management system. He hoped that the project of Dr. Shahzad will encourage the communities to employ improved and efficient water solutions.
The award -with prizes totalling USD 1 million- encourages research centres, individuals, and innovators around the world to find sustainable and innovative solutions for scarcity and pollution of water that use solar power. The award includes three categories: Innovative Projects award, Innovative Research and Development award, Innovative Individual award.