EMIRATI INTERNSHIP INITIATIVE

BUILDING RELATIONSHIPS THROUGH THE

M uch of EllisDon’s success has been as a result of the relationships we build with our

clients, partners, and communities. Our people are always in search of adopting new

ways to hone these relationships, develop new ones, and continue our growth in both new and

existing markets. It was this sort of entrepreneurial thinking that led our Middle East office

Vice-Presidents, Wissam Ayoub and Daniel Murphy, to the idea of initiating EllisDon’s involvement in a

program known as the Emirati Internship Initiative.

“The Emirati Internship Program is a way for EllisDon to support the UAE and help develop the young Emirati Engineers aspiring to become the future leaders in their fields. It is also an opportunity for them to learn best practices through

our operation in Canada with the potential to engage them in the UAE”

Wissam Ayoub Vice-President, EllisDon Middle East

Supported by the Canadian-UAE Business Council and the UAE Ministry of Education, the Emirati

Internship Initiative aims to provide Emirati students with meaningful work experience with a

Canadian company, like EllisDon. For us, it was an opportunity to enhance our relationships with the UAE

government and partners as we continue to successfully expand our projects in this region.

“EllisDon has a much broader vision for this program than just employing the two students

ourselves,” said Daniel Murphy, Vice-President Middle East. “We plan to take a leadership role in

getting other Canadian construction and engineering firms operating in the UAE to participate

over the coming years. The trade and investment relationship between Canada and the UAE has never been

stronger so we want to ensure this momentum continues.”

As part of the initiative EllisDon committed to hosting two students annually for a four month period.

Our first participant in the program was Jamal Alsabt, an international student from Dubai, enrolled in the

Sustainable and Renewable Energy program at Carlton University in Ottawa, Ontario.

“The Emirati Internship Initiative is such a perfect opportunity to experience the responsibilities of being a

part of a great company, which improves your educational, communication and working skills,” said Jamal.

From the beginning Jamal expressed his passion for sustainability as well as a desire to be taught

as many new skills as he could to bring back home with him and apply in his future careers.

A position with the Sustainable Building Services (SBS) group, headed by Global Director Andrew

Bowerbank, was a natural fit. While SBS was at the core of his mandate, Jamal was immersed in many of

the services offered by EllisDon where he learned about all facets of the company and even discovered his

interest in other areas, particularly in Energy and Digital Services.

“Since my first day I have been learning something new every single day. As a personal opinion, the main reason behind the

success that EllisDon is accomplishing on a daily basis is the spirit and connection between the employees. This spirit would

make any person work hard and actually love the work.”

Jamal AlsabtIntern, EllisDon Middle East

During his time with EllisDon Jamal learned and grew quickly while taking on a number of different

projects. In as little as one month he learned how to build a dashboard for our construction management

software – Gate Three. However, his most significant contribution was a recently published in-depth

report that explores various innovations in intelligent and sustainable technologies used in construction.

The exemplary piece was proudly published and shared across every EllisDon office.

WE DESIGN, FINANCE, CONSTRUCT, EQUIP, OPERATE, AND MANAGE ANYTHING THAT CAN BE BUILT.

While his term was only a four-month period, Jamal’s contributions to the company have

proven to be invaluable. EllisDon’s continued growth and success is heavily dependent on

having passionate leaders and Jamal has been proof of that. We look forward to continuing to

provide international students with opportunities through the Emirati Internship Initiative

and enhancing our relationships in the Middle East.

“I would like to give a special thanks to Mr. Andrew Bowerbank for all the duties he assigned to

me, which improved my skills in many different ways,” said Jamal. “Also, I would like to thank

Mr. Daniel Murphy and Mr. Wissam Ayoub for welcoming me in EllisDon’s office in Dubai.

Finally, if I would like to add that I really wish I knew about this internship initiative since my

first year in Canada.”

“Wissam and I had the opportunity to meet Jamal in Dubai during his placement period. It was clear that he very much appreciated the

opportunity and benefited from working with our SBS group. Jamal’s success in the program is really an indication of the positive

impact such a program can have on young UAE up-and-comers.”

Daniel Murphy Vice-President, EllisDon Middle East