UAE students to question maritime experts

Middle East Workboats 2011, the region’s leading event for workboat operators, builders and equipment suppliers is introducing an innovative student question time on the final day of the event which takes place on 3-5 October 2011 at the Abu Dhabi National Exhibition Centre (ADNEC). 

“A dedicated session, sponsored by P&O Maritime, has been arranged so that local students and other industry professionals visiting the show can ‘challenge’ a panel of leading industry experts by posing questions that will no doubt stimulate lively debate. We hope it will give students a clearer insight into the industry they have chosen to be a part of,” said Emma Hamilton, Middle East Marketing Manager at Seatrade, organisers of Middle East Workboats. 

A panel of five experts is in the process of being hand-picked by a committee formed to oversee the project. To give the session some direction, the committee has suggested a number of topics such as, sustainable business models, risk management, piracy and seaborne terrorism. Students are being invited to submit questions that will raise issues about the topics to confront the panel of experts. 

Questions will be pre-selected prior to the event and the most challenging put forward. The successful students will then be invited by the conference chairman to put their question to the panel, live onsite, during the debate. 

“To engage those members of the audience that are not students, we will allow relevant questions on the day and these will be selected by a Seatrade representative,” added Hamilton. 

Middle East Workboats 2011 is a three-day international exhibition and conference, with technical seminars, panel debates and round table discussions. It plays a crucial role bringing together suppliers and boat-builders as well as providing a forum for a broad spectrum of industry stakeholders. The conference programme also features leading maritime figures from across the region and internationally, who will address the issues, opportunities and challenges facing the industry now and in the future. 

Among the issues that will be under discussion this year is the modernisation trends in workboats, along with the rapid technological advances and unprecedented sophistication in the latest workboat designs and applications. 

The student question time initiative is sponsored by P&O Maritime Services.