The School of Engineering Management proudly congratulates Dr. Salma Humaid Saeed Humaid Al Ali on the successful defense of her doctoral thesis, "Structured Competency-Based Education as a Foundation for Improving Fire Safety in UAE Buildings: Constructing and Validating Indicators for Architects and Fire Safety Engineering Consultants."
Her research addresses a critical challenge facing the UAE's rapidly growing construction sector by developing the first empirically validated competency framework specifically designed for both architects and fire safety engineering consultants working in the country's unique regulatory, environmental, and multicultural context.
Using a rigorous mixed-methods approach that combined a systematic literature review, a three-round Delphi study with industry experts, and a survey of 250 practicing professionals, Dr. Al Ali developed and validated a framework comprising 62 competency indicators across the domains of Knowledge, Skills, and Attitudes (KSA). The study also identified important competency gaps in areas such as digital fire safety technologies, regulatory compliance, multidisciplinary collaboration, and climate-specific fire safety knowledge.
The research makes significant contributions to both industry and academia. For industry, the validated framework provides an evidence-based foundation for professional licensing, continuing professional development, and university curriculum design, supporting improved fire safety performance across the UAE's built environment. For research, it advances Competency-Based Education in a high-risk engineering discipline and establishes a benchmark for future studies in fire safety education and professional competency development.
The School of Engineering Management congratulates Dr. Salma Humaid Saeed Humaid Al Ali on this outstanding achievement and recognizes the important impact her research will have on improving fire safety education, professional practice, and safer building design in the UAE and beyond.
