introduction

The newly-established Khalifa University of Science and Technology (KU) combines the Masdar Institute of Science and Technology (MI), the Khalifa University of Science, Technology and Research (KUSTAR) and the Petroleum Institute (PI) into one world-class, research-intensive institution, seamlessly integrating research and education to produce world leaders and critical thinkers in applied science and engineering.

Khalifa University endeavors to be a leader among research intensive universities of the 21st century, while catalyzing the growth of Abu Dhabi and the UAE’s rapidly developing knowledge economy.

As a world-class, research-intensive institution, KU will:

• Set new standards in education, research and scholarship that will benefit the UAE and the world.
• Drive Abu Dhabi and the UAE as a knowledge destination and engine for socio-economic growth through active translation of research into the nation’s economy.
• Seamlessly integrate research and education to produce world leaders and critical thinkers in applied science, engineering, management and medicine.
• Continuously innovate and integrate the global standard in methods of learning and discovery.
• Build a diverse community of service-oriented, ambitious and talented individuals, through an environment that encourages and nurtures creative inquiry, critical thinking, and human values.
• Empower the community with practical and social skills, business acumen and a capability for lifetime learning that will enrich the workforce of the country.

Scope of Work

The aim of this 10x day project was to update the existing image database with exciting new content of 3x Research Institutes, 16x Research Centers, Core and Sponsored Labs including Development Centers and general Campus facilities. These photos will be mainly used for the KU website relaunch as well as for collateral and Social Media Channels.

Project Notes

In an ideal world it would have made perfect sense to split the shooting days between the different campuses and also align daily schedules so that only minimal movements between each Lab are required. However the reality is very different.

KU’s Marketing team had to make huge efforts to get hold of the individual department heads, their assistants and whoever else was put in charge to organize the facilities/Labs/Centers/equipment, to prepare experiments etc. as well liaise with many people they never met before, managing the availability of participating students and faculty members and place everything into reasonable convenient timetable for all involved parties.

Weekly and daily schedules had to be dynamic and all involved people somehow flexible to make this shoot a success. A constant moving between various buildings and campuses throughout the days was the norm and put my work under certain time pressure to complete the scope of work within the agreed time frame.

As a result I decided to use only minimal portable studio lighting and worked mainly with available light. This setup allowed me to be ready for shooting within minutes so that more time is available for identifying great scenes and moments. Additionally it takes more time to work with non-professional cast and get them in the right position but this is a no-brainer and all I really need are people with motivation, dedication and a bit of patience to get amazing images after all.