Khalifa University of Science and Technology today announced it has successfully won the bid to host the 53rd International Conference on Computers and Industrial Engineering () inĚýAbu Dhabi, UAE, fromĚý20–23 October 2026.

Supported by the Abu Dhabi Conventions & Exhibition Bureau, Khalifa University’s Department of Management Science and Engineering has completed the process for hosting the event that will include four days of discussions on knowledge exchange, collaboration and networking.

His Excellency Professor Ebrahim Al Hajri, President, Khalifa University, said: “Khalifa University is proud to have won the bid to host the 53rd International Conference on Computers and Industrial Engineering () for the first time in the GCC region. We are also delighted to organize such an international event that will once again showcase the UAE’s industrial, research and academic capabilities engineering and management science. We believe the knowledge exchange and presence of global leaders will result in collaborations that will benefit not only the local but the regional economies as well.”

Participants will explore cutting-edge research and breakthroughs in industrial engineering, gain valuable insights from emerging start-ups, leading AI and engineering enterprises, and world-class scholars. expand professional networks with experts and peers from across the globe, as well as get inspired by the brightest minds shaping the future of this multi-faceted field.

Dr. Mecit Can Emre Simsekler, Chair of CIE53, Acting Chair, and Associate Professor, Department of Management Science said: “Khalifa University is honored to bring this world-renowned conference to Abu Dhabi and the UAE. Hosting CIE53 reflects our commitment to advancing research and innovation in industrial engineering, management science and related fields, and we look forward to welcoming global experts and scholars to Abu Dhabi.”

CIE53 continues the prestigious tradition of a conference series sponsored byĚýComputers & Industrial Engineering: An International Journal, published by Elsevier. The journal ranks in the top 4% among general engineering journals in this field.Ěý

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Second CubeSat Designed and Built by Students, Gently Eases into its Orbit after Leaving International Space Station Ěý

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Khalifa University and Al Yah Satellite Communications Company (Yahsat) have jointly announced the deployment of DhabiSat into orbit from Northrop Grumman’s Cygnus resupply spacecraft, marking yet another milestone achievement for the university and the UAE.

DhabiSat, the second CubeSat designed and built by Khalifa University students, gently eased into its orbit after leaving the International Space Station (ISS). The primary mission of DhabiSat is to enable students to design, implement, and test software modules for attitude determination and control subsystems (ADCS). The work was conducted at the Yahsat Space Lab, which is part of the Khalifa University Space Technology and Innovation Lab (KUSTIL).

Dr. Arif Sultan Al Hammadi, Executive Vice-President, Khalifa University, said: “With the deployment of DhabiSat into its orbital slot, our students and our partners have once again registered another key milestone for Khalifa University and the UAE. We thank our partners Yahsat and Northrop Grumman, who have supported our students throughout the process of designing, developing and launching DhabiSat, the third CubeSat built by Khalifa University students, as well as another CubeSat we are planning to build in the future. As the UAE begins to consolidate its status as a space power in the world, we look forward to creating more scientific talent and human capital, especially in the space science sector, along with our academic and industry partners.”

Congratulating the team, Yahsat’s Chief Human Capital Officer Muna Almheiri said: “This is a significant step in the UAE’s mission to develop homegrown talent to lead its National Space Programme. We need future generations of Emirati space leaders and visionaries to fulfill the aspirations of our founding fathers, and the rich potential of our nation. DhabiSat’s successful deployment underscores the aptitude, skills, and maturity of our youth to manage multi-pronged programmes and work with the leading lights in the global space industry. Yahsat is very passionate about helping worthy candidates grow and understand advanced satellite technologies to spur national industrialization efforts. The Yahsat Space Lab established at KUSTIL is an excellent vehicle for the development of local manpower in space and system engineering fields, and DhabiSat is yet another example of its success. We also thank our partners – UAE Space Agency, Khalifa University, and Northrop Grumman – for their committed support to the cause. The UAE’s space ambitions are not defined or limited by national borders, and DhabiSat is a perfect example of what a country can achieve through national and international collaborations.”

“As technical advisor and student mentor to the DhabiSat team, Northrop Grumman looks forward to the results of the attitude control research that will be carried out by the satellite,’ said Frank DeMauro, vice-president and general manager, tactical space systems, Northrop Grumman. “The deployment of DhabiSat and other CubeSats also ˛ÝÝ®ĘÓƵ the versatility and value in our Cygnus resupply vehicle carrying out missions beyond supplying the International Space Station.”

DhabiSat will assess the accuracy of various ADCS pointing control strategies and validate the same by taking images using a digital camera onboard pointed in specific directions. The new ADCS algorithms shall improve the pointing accuracy of the CubeSat and its response time to attitude changes as compared to conventional algorithms. In terms of system resources, DhabiSat will require less power to achieve the targeted pointings and if successful, the algorithms will gain flight heritage on board DhabiSat, which then can be used as a baseline for future CubeSat missions.

Earlier, MySat-1, the first CubeSat developed by students of Khalifa University, was deployed from the NG-10 Cygnus spacecraft in February 2019. The educational and communication CubeSat sent images from space that were received by the satellite ground station at Khalifa University. In addition, a new Lithium Ion battery, manufactured at Khalifa University’s Masdar Institute laboratories, was also tested in space. Students and faculty have so far published several papers based on the data from MySat-1.

Clarence Michael
English Editor Specialist
13 July 2021

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By Dr. Sean Swei

The UAE and Italian scientific communities have both experienced unprecedented success in space exploration and earth observation in recent years, systematically promoting space technology through incremental research and development and radical innovation.

The second in a series of webinars aiming to strengthen the opportunities for bilateral cooperation between Italy and the United Arab Emirates saw speakers discuss novel ideas and collaboration topics in technology development to support international space missions in different domains. Khalifa University recently launched the KU Space Technology and Innovation Lab (KUSTIL), in June 2020, of which I am the Director.

I joined this webinar to discuss the areas of research KUSTIL is focusing on.

One such area is space robotics, investigated by Prof. Lakmal Seneviratne and Prof. Jorge Dias from the KU Center for Autonomous Robotics Systems (KUCARS). The recent growth in low cost unmanned systems provides opportunities for new and cost-effective unmanned rovers for space exploration and space observations. This allows the continuous monitoring of assets deployed in space and to other planets via autonomous vehicles operating cooperatively to provide flexible and persistent surveillance solutions. Researchers in this area are looking at dealing with communications delays for remotely controlled rovers. Robots in space are a long way from teams on Earth, resulting in a delay in communications between them and so solutions that balance autonomy with long-distance command and control are required to conduct scouting missions on distant planets.

Another area is Next Generation Antenna (NGA) systems, investigated by Dr. Mohammed Abou-Khousa, Dr. Prashanth Marpu, and Dr. Khaled Al-Wahedi at KU. With the advent of small and nano satellites, deep space vehicles, and high speed networks, there is an increasing demand for low-volume and lightweight antennas that can function optimally under harsh space conditions, wherever the mission may take them. In this project, new antenna systems founded on novel design concepts will be developed to address these needs. Specifically, 3D metal printing and machine learning algorithms will be used to realize new optimized antennas.

We are also considering sustainable astronomy in the era of large satellite constellations. Low-orbit broadband satellite constellations are growing dramatically, and due to their relative proximity to Earth, they appear extremely bright, posing a serious threat to observational astronomy. Dr. Elena Fantino is leading a team of researchers to develop an automated system to accurately predict satellite transits across the field of view from Earth and then developed scheduling solutions that mitigate the negative impact on observations. Astronomers foresee a swarm of 40,000 low-Earth orbit satellites in the near future, and unless successful mitigation actions are adopted, the scientific capabilities of current and future observatories will be severely compromised.

Finally, Dr. Yahya Zweiri and Dr. Jorge Dias join me in proposing work on robotic in-space assembly of large space structures. In order to support long-term human presence in the solar system, large flexible space infrastructure needs to provide basic operational and functional needs in space, such as communication antennas, observatories, and solar power stations. Materials made of a large number of physical components but with a small number of distinctive part types can offer highly repetitive patterns in size, dimension, and shape that make them viable solutions for autonomous robotic in-space assembly. Our project will demonstrate the feasibility and effectiveness of building an ultra-large space infrastructure through collaborative robotic in-space assembly techniques. This research will have significant impact on future human expansion on the Moon, Mars and beyond.

At Khalifa University, we’re proud to showcase our faculty expertise, especially in space exploration and Earth observation.

Innov-Italy UAE aims at improving the opportunities for bilateral cooperation between the UAE and Italy in six high-innovation sectors, including cybersecurity, space, smart cities and sustainable mobility, life sciences, food technologies, and renewable energy.

Dr. Sean Swei is a Professor of Practice in Aerospace Engineering and Director of the KU Space Technology and Innovation Lab at Khalifa University.

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