20 years of study culminates in PhD for Qatari engineer
Wed, 25 May 2016 13:55:00 BST
Now, Dr Abdulrahman Al-Braik actively encourages other Qatari students to study at the University of Huddersfield
◄ Abdulrahman is pictured (right) with his son, Mohamed Abdulrahman, who is currently studying at Huddersfield for an engineering degree
FOR more than ten years, Abdulrahman Al-Braik has combined a key role at one of the Middle East’s leading oil and gas producers with study and research at the University of Huddersfield. Now, he has been awarded his doctorate.
His PhD thesis so impressed examiners that they asked for only a few, minor changes to the text – a considerable achievement that crowns Dr Al-Braik’s long association with the UK university. But his family links with Huddersfield will continue. His son Mohamed Abdulrahman – sponsored by the Qatari government – is currently studying for an engineering degree.
For over 20 years, Dr Al-Braik has worked in various departments within Gas Operations, responsible for gas processing in the state of Qatar. In 1994, he was sponsored by his employers to study full time at the University of Huddersfield, first for an HND and then for a Bachelor of Engineering degree.
Back at his organisation, Dr Al-Braik’s career as a mechanical engineer at the company led to an appointment as a Head of Engineering in the Department of Transmission and Distribution of Hydrocarbon Products.
But despite his demanding role, he continued to study part time for postgraduate qualifications at the Huddersfield, using his annual leave to pay research visits to the University, taking his data back to Qatar for analysis.
In 2005, he achieved an MPhil in mechanical engineering, and now he has been awarded his PhD for a thesis titled Detection and Diagnosis of Incipient Faults of Centrifugal Pumps, a topic that is of close relevance to his work, detecting and remedying faults before they effect production.
During his PhD research, Dr Al-Braik was supervised by the University of Huddersfield’s Pro-Vice-Chancellor for Research and Enterprise, Professor Andrew Ball, who directs the Centre for Efficiency and Performance Engineering.
“It’s been a pleasure to supervise Abdulrahman’s PhD” said Professor Ball. “It’s very rewarding when a piece of doctoral-level research is based within a sector-leading industrial organisation.”
A doctorate was always his ultimate goal, said Dr Al-Braik. By continuing his studies part-time he continually enhanced his skills and knowledge of the latest technology, he added. Now Dr Al-Braik actively encourages other Qatari students to work towards postgraduate degrees at the University of Huddersfield.
