Professor Waheeb Al Khaja, the Managing Director of the Board of Directors and founder of the Applied Science University (ASU), was recently granted the fellowship from Chartered Institute of Building of the United Kingdom. This honor is granted to people who are qualified and have extensive experience in the engineering and construction field. Being granted this fellowship is recognises the enormous contribution he has made to the industry. The Chartered Institute for Building is considered one of the most important establishments in construction management and leadership in the world. The institute, established 181 years ago and headquartered in the United Kingdom, has more than 45,000 members. Professor Waheeb Al Khaja is proud to be the first Bahraini to obtain the fellowship and will be added to his already impressive list of achievements.

Professor Waheeb Al Khaja obtained his Bachelor in Civil Engineering from Texas University in USA in 1981. He continued his PhD at Leeds University in 1986, specializing in Construction Engineering and Material Management. He has spent around thirty years in teaching and researching different topics related to Civil Engineering. He has published 27 scientific research papers on the construction, roading, quality and managing projects. He has supervised more than 15 master’s degree dissertations, and, in addition to that, he has supervised postgraduate diploma projects. He also published an engineering book titled “The Techniques of Construction Materials and Roads” and co-authored a book titled “The Techniques of Information and Project Management in the Middle East” with the help of two professors from Salford University and the American University in Beirut. 

Professor Waheeb Al Khaja worked as a project engineer in accomplishing the project of  Gulf Petrochemical Company in the Kingdom of Bahrain. Then he worked as a scientific researcher at the Engineering department at Leeds University in the United Kingdom. Later, he held several academic and administrative posts at the Arab Gulf University. He participated in supervising  the building of the Campus of the university at Sakhir and supervised in designing the Royal University for Women during its establishment . After leaving the Arab Gulf University, he established the Applied Science University and was its president for more than ten years.

During his career, Professor Waheeb Al Khaja has been a member of many professional bodies. He was the President of the Arab Association of Collegiate Registrars and Admissions Officers from 1993 to 1994 and the head of registration at the Arab Gulf University from 1987 to 2002. He has been a member in the Board of Trustees of the American Biographical Institute since 1995, and he spent more than thirty years as a full member of the Bahrain Society of Engineers.  He has been a consultant member since 2002 of Ajman Magazines for Studies and Research. He obtained an honorary medal at the Science Festival from the Ministry of Education in 1986 and the prize of the crown prince for scientific engineering research in 1995.  and an appreciation certificate “Five Hundred Leaders of Influence” from the American Biographical Institute and an appreciation certificate  “Who’s Who of the Year” from the American Biographical Institute in the US in 1995.  At present, he is a member of the Advisory Board for the Higher Studies and Research Council at the Arab Universities Union located at Cairo University.

On this occasion, Professor Waheeb Al Khaja expressed his happiness for obtaining the fellowship from Chartered Institute of Construction hoping that this will reflect positively on consolidating the partnership and the academic cooperation between the Applied Science University and international educational establishments. Professor Ghassan Aouad, the President of the University, is the head of Chartered Institute of Construction and he reiterated that the university believes in the importance of partnership with the different Arab and international educational establishments and the exchange of experiences.

Professor Ghassan Aouad expressed his happiness for granting Professor Al Khaja the fellowship because it is an acknowledgement of his professionalism in the engineering field; in addition to his achievements in research and project management. Professor Aouad also expressed his congratulations to all the employees of the university.