AUS Silver Jubilee Tour

Dubai's “Twisted Bridge” was named among the world’s most beautiful bridges in 2021 by leading travel magazine Conde Nast Traveller from London’s Vogue House.

Yet most have never heard the story behind these bridges and the legacy of their architects—two best friends, Kerem Şerifoğlu and Tamer Fawzi Ismail—who started their careers 20 years ago in the design studios of  CAAD.

Ahmed Al Ali and Farid Esmaeil, co-founders of one of the UAE’s leading homegrown architecture firms, X-Architects, and alumni of AUS, won the Aga Khan Award for Architecture 2019.

The two architects, who were among the first graduates of the CAAD, have received global accolades for their work.

Pallavi Dean is the founder and creative director of Roar—one of the UAE’s leading boutique design firms.

With a team of young, predominantly female creatives, Dean has continued to set the bar high for interior design in the region. Roar’s design philosophy is “50 percent tame, 50 percent wild,” with clients seeking them out for creating eclectic spaces across the commercial, food and beverage, hospitality, education and residential sectors. 

Among the masses of those who celebrated the grand opening of The Museum of the Future (MOTF) in Dubai recently, were around 20 alumni from AUS who played their own part in realizing the vision for the launch of this inspiring new institution.

Working for architectural firm Killa Design, CAAD alumna Maryam Hosny spent three years as a member of the site team that oversaw the realization of the building. Meanwhile, design management graduate Inas Dabdoub manages the museum's social media accounts.

CAAD multimedia design graduates Nada Aldash and Maryam Moustafa were named UAE national winners  of the prestigious James Dyson Award for their innovative concepts that aim to use interactive design technology to improve the lives of users. 

Their winning entry, Touch, enables visually impaired individuals to experience color through a discreet smart ring worn on the finger. By passing the ring over different objects, the accessory detects color, which is communicated to the wearer audibly, and through colored lights for those who can see degrees of light and shade. 

Haneen Asfour, now a graduate in design managementat CAAD, won the award for best Young Talent in this the 2020 Arab Woman Awards UAE. Asfour was recognized as the founder of Level-Up DXB, a personal development hub for young adults in the Middle East.

Level-Up DXB was established in the summer of 2019 when Asfour and her fellow CAAD student Sahar Bokhary identified a gap in the market for relevant and accessible personal development opportunities for young people in the UAE.