The Future Infrastructure Star Challenge seeks to provide a space for the young minds of today to consider and solve the world’s toughest challenges. While the world around us is constantly changing, our infrastructure tends to remain the same. 

The team included Nouraldeen Rabaya and Lubna Issa under the supervision of Professor Sameer Abu Eisheh. The competition, which was held internationally, aimed at adopting innovative insights that contribute to reducing the carbon footprint resulting from urban infrastructure.

Since the team adopted a more environmentally-friendly thinking, they proposed a design of a green Palestinian city. For which reason, Rawabi City was chosen as a model of a sustainable eco-city capable of enhancing the quality of life for current and future generations through sustainable methods. 

The proposal also touched on issues related to sustainable transport, town planning, solid waste management, water and wastewater management, renewable energy, and green buildings.

Student Rabaya said “The Department of Civil Engineering at An-Najah integrates theory with practice in its courses by means of modern digital tools used worldwide, including programs provided by Bentley, which made it easier for our team to come up with new ideas and showcase them in a practical and smart way.”

Student Issa stressed that the Department of Civil Engineering has offered new courses recently, focusing on sustainability issues. These courses do not only aim to improve students’ ecological engineering skills, but also aim to integrate and employ these skills in other courses in order to reach engineering systems that both are environmentally friendly and reduce any potential risks.

It is worth mentioning that under the supervision of Professor Sameer Abu Eisheh, a number of students won the first place a few years ago in a competition associated with Bentley’s software to design a path linking the West Bank and Gaza.