Overall Rating Bronze
Overall Score 40.37
Liaison Raafat Kabbara
Submission Date Nov. 15, 2022

STARS v2.2

Higher Colleges of Technology
AC-8: Campus as a Living Laboratory

Status Score Responsible Party
Complete 2.40 / 4.00 Raafat Kabbara
Assistant Manager - Facilities Management
General Services
"---" indicates that no data was submitted for this field

Campus Engagement

Is the institution utilizing its infrastructure and operations as a living laboratory for applied student learning for sustainability in relation to Campus Engagement?:
No

A brief description of the projects and how they contribute to understanding or advancing sustainability in relation to Campus Engagement:
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Public Engagement 

Is the institution utilizing its infrastructure and operations as a living laboratory for applied student learning for sustainability in relation to Public Engagement?:
No

A brief description of the projects and how they contribute to understanding or advancing sustainability in relation to Public Engagement:
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Air & Climate 

Is the institution utilizing its infrastructure and operations as a living laboratory for applied student learning for sustainability in relation to Air & Climate?:
No

A brief description of the projects and how they contribute to understanding or advancing sustainability in relation to Air & Climate:
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Buildings  

Is the institution utilizing its infrastructure and operations as a living laboratory for applied student learning for sustainability in relation to Buildings?:
Yes

A brief description of the projects and how they contribute to understanding or advancing sustainability in relation to Buildings:
The HCT Engineering team has participated in the Dubai Solar Decathlon Middle East Team Desert Phoenix in November 2021. The objective of this participation is to:
1. Showcase the engineering department's sustainable design.
2. Raise awareness of the students participating in the competition – use of renewable energy technologies, energy management, and sustainable construction, challenging them to think creatively and develop innovative solutions that contribute to energy savings.
3. Encourage professionals from different industries to select materials and systems that reduce the environmental impact of their buildings, optimizing their economic viability and providing comfort and safety for occupants.
4. Educate the general public about responsible energy use, renewable energy, energy efficiency, and the technologies available to help them to reduce/optimize their energy consumption.
5. Encourage the use of solar technologies and demonstrate the performance of solar homes.

The evidence link is given below:
https://www.teamdesertphoenix.org/post/hct-ets-the-solar-decathlon-middle-east-team-desert-phoenix

Energy 

Is the institution utilizing its infrastructure and operations as a living laboratory for applied student learning for sustainability in relation to Energy?:
Yes

A brief description of the projects and how they contribute to understanding or advancing sustainability in relation to Energy:
HCT campuses involve students in different smart and sustainable projects as living laboratories and engage them in campus engagement in order to advance sustainability relationships. The projects such as HVAC smart Control system were examples (2020 projects, 2019-2020AY). The assigned staff involved selected students in the project. The staff gave the training to monitor, operate and control effectively and efficiently the AC system at the HCT AAM and HCT AAW. They also provided the sustainable benefits of the systems to the students in terms of power savings, CO2 emissions calculations and reduction.
Other projects involve the installation of the variable frequency drives at HCT DBM in order to reduce power consumption on the chilled water pumps.

Refer to the supporting documents attached.

Food & Dining 

Is the institution utilizing its infrastructure and operations as a living laboratory for applied student learning for sustainability in relation to Food & Dining?:
No

A brief description of the projects and how they contribute to understanding or advancing sustainability in relation to Food & Dining:
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Grounds 

Is the institution utilizing its infrastructure and operations as a living laboratory for applied student learning for sustainability in relation to Grounds?:
Yes

A brief description of the projects and how they contribute to understanding or advancing sustainability in relation to Grounds:
HCT initiated and contributed to many sustainable practices in relation to public engagement. Some of the participations are given below and evidence was attached.
1. HCT-AAM Follows Sheikh Zayed’s Passion for A Green Environment:
Following in Sheikh Zayed’s footsteps, the HCT-Al Ain Men’s Foundations students joined with faculty and staff in planting 40 local environmental trees on the campus grounds.
2. Sheikh Zayed’s Legacy Grows as AAM Plants Year of Zayed Palm Tree:
Students, faculty, and staff at the HCT-Al Ain Men’s campus (AAM) have ensured that the late Sheikh Zayed Bin Sultan Al Nahyan’s legacy of a love for the environment continues when they participated in a “Year of Zayed Palm Tree” event on March 6, 2018. The late Sheikh Zayed, an avid environmentalist, transformed the desert into a green haven. The planting ceremony was organized by the AAM Soun Club and Veterinary Science students collaborated.

Purchasing 

Is the institution utilizing its infrastructure and operations as a living laboratory for applied student learning for sustainability in relation to Purchasing?:
No

A brief description of the projects and how they contribute to understanding or advancing sustainability in relation to Purchasing:
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Transportation 

Is the institution utilizing its infrastructure and operations as a living laboratory for applied student learning for sustainability in relation to Transportation?:
No

A brief description of the projects and how they contribute to understanding or advancing sustainability in relation to Transportation:
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Waste 

Is the institution utilizing its infrastructure and operations as a living laboratory for applied student learning for sustainability in relation to Waste?:
Yes

A brief description of the projects and how they contribute to understanding or advancing sustainability in relation to Waste:
HCT-AAW Teams Up with Emirates Environmental Group to collect different recycling materials. The HCT Al Ain Women’s campus (AAW) has shown it’s a truly environmentally friendly community by actively participating in the Emirates Environmental Group’s (EEG) Paper Collection Campaign, throughout 2017. With the contributions from HCT-AAW, it has now been calculated that the EEG managed to successfully collect a total of 1,348,278 Kg of paper, which has resulted in the following
Environmental Benefits Savings

1. GHG Reduction 7,218 MT C2e*
2. Energy Saved 22,921
3. Volume of Land fill saved 4,257 Cu.M

*Metric Tons CO Equivalence
**British Thermal Unit

The HCT-AAW community’s contributions in 2017 resulted in a range of improvements and the
following environmental benefits:
• Greenhouse gas (GHG) reduction
• Energy Saved
• Number of Trees Saved
• Volume of Landfill Saved
The AAW contributions enabled EEG to surpass its 2016 collection total of 1,341,338 Kg of paper.

Refer to the supporting documents attached.

Water 

Is the institution utilizing its infrastructure and operations as a living laboratory for applied student learning for sustainability in relation to Water?:
Yes

A brief description of the projects and how they contribute to understanding or advancing sustainability in relation to Water:
HCT campuses involve students in different smart and sustainable projects such as living laboratories and engage them in the campus irrigation smart systems in order to enhance their sustainability knowledge related to water efficiency. in 2019, a smart irrigation system has been executed.

The project's scope is to design, procure and implement a smart irrigation system in which the irrigation is carried out via humidity sensors. The function of the sensors is to operate only when needed based on the humidity sensing. Around 20 students participated in the execution of the project gaining knowledge of the system operation and implementation.

Refer to the supporting documents attached.

Coordination & Planning 

Is the institution utilizing its infrastructure and operations as a living laboratory for applied student learning for sustainability in relation to Coordination & Planning?:
No

A brief description of the projects and how they contribute to understanding or advancing sustainability in relation to Coordination & Planning:
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Diversity & Affordability 

Is the institution utilizing its infrastructure and operations as a living laboratory for applied student learning for sustainability in relation to Diversity & Affordability?:
No

A brief description of the projects and how they contribute to understanding or advancing sustainability in relation to Diversity & Affordability:
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Investment & Finance 

Is the institution utilizing its infrastructure and operations as a living laboratory for applied student learning for sustainability in relation to Investment & Finance?:
No

A brief description of the projects and how they contribute to understanding or advancing sustainability in relation to Investment & Finance:
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Wellbeing & Work 

Is the institution utilizing its infrastructure and operations as a living laboratory for applied student learning for sustainability in relation to Wellbeing & Work?:
Yes

A brief description of the projects and how they contribute to understanding or advancing sustainability in relation to Wellbeing & Work:
The HCT continues to strive at building a healthier and happier UAE by:
1. Launching physical fitness and wellbeing initiatives, systematically.
2. Developing systems, policies, structures and mechanisms to make every person move and count the success of every move.
4. Setting an example for other higher education institutions within the region to promote health and happiness.
5. So far the total participant for the events were 24,303 Nos

Optional Fields 

Website URL where information about the institution’s living laboratory program is available:
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Additional documentation to support the submission:
Data source(s) and notes about the submission:
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The information presented here is self-reported. While AASHE staff review portions of all STARS reports and institutions are welcome to seek additional forms of review, the data in STARS reports are not verified by AASHE. If you believe any of this information is erroneous or inconsistent with credit criteria, please review the process for inquiring about the information reported by an institution or simply email your inquiry to stars@aashe.org.