When you think of aircraft engineers in the United Arab Emirates (UAE), chances are you might assume that they're all men. On the contrary, at the Abu Dhabi International Airport, Suaad Al Shamsi has been a recognizable face, a woman who defied all odds by becoming the first female aircraft engineer in not just the Emirati capital but the entire UAE.
Her interest in aircrafts began at an early age, when as a little girl, Al Shamsi would stare up to the sky to look at airplanes. In fact, she loved everything about them and, combined with vivid memories of taking her first flight in 1990, the love for fixing things, and her mother's support, she was more than determined to pursue a career in the aviation industry as an adult.
Before becoming an aircraft engineer, she studied for up to ten years, concluding her higher education on aerospace engineering at the University of Hertfordshire in 2006, and earning a bachelor’s degree and MBA in aviation management at Coventry University in 2010 and 2012 respectively. In fact, she had the full support of the Vice President and Prime Minister of the UAE, His Highness Sheikh Mohammed Bin Rashid Al Maktoum, who gave her the opportunity to study aeronautical engineering.
Al Shamsi would get her first break when she was recruited by UAE's world-leading airliner, Emirates, as licensed aircraft engineer in 2007, making her the first woman in the UAE to have that role. In addition, she was made aircraft technical service engineer in 2014 before joining Etihad Airways as senior program manager in 2016.
With the sky as the limit, other women are inspired to follow Al Shamsi's journey in following their dreams. Fortunately, Al Shamsi is willing to lend them a helping hand. In 2018, she launched Learn to Live (L2L), a company that specializes in consulting, lectures, and events in the UAE and abroad, a fantastic venue for every aspiring woman indeed.
