SHARJAH, 5th October, 2026 (WAM) — As artificial intelligence and digital services drive the growth of data centers worldwide, finding ways to cool servers while conserving water is becoming increasingly important. Three American University of Sharjah (AUS) students have taken on that challenge with AquaServe, a proposal to recover and reuse water during cooling that won the inaugural Women Innovator Challenge held at AUS.
Organised by the AUS College of Engineering’s Women in Engineering (WiE) Society, the challenge asked female-led student teams to develop engineering ideas addressing water scarcity and sustainable water management in the UAE. It drew 26 submissions, with 13 teams comprising 46 students from seven institutions reaching the final.
The winning AquaServe team comprises AUS students Amritha Rajeev, Raisa Syed and Sham Al-Tabba’. Their proposed system would circulate warm water from data center servers through columns where tiny air bubbles carry away heat. Water vapor would then be condensed and returned to the system for reuse. The team presented a design, calculations and a computer simulation for the approach, which aims to reduce water lost during cooling.
“Participating in the Women Innovator Challenge gave us the opportunity to apply our engineering knowledge to a pressing sustainability challenge and develop a solution with practical relevance to the UAE. Winning the challenge was especially rewarding given the quality of the solutions presented by teams from across the participating universities, and it reinforced the value of collaborative, application-driven engineering in addressing complex water and sustainability challenges,” said Al-Tabba’, a mechanical engineering student at AUS.
Each finalist team had three minutes to present its idea and three minutes to answer questions. The judging panel comprised Dana Al-Muqbel, Process Engineer at Worley; Hind Ahmed Mohamed Almutawa Almteiri, Senior Manager, IPPs and Production Planning at Dubai Electricity and Water Authority; and Dr. Serter Atabay, Professor of Civil Engineering at AUS. They evaluated the teams’ understanding of the problem, the originality and feasibility of their proposals, and their potential impact.
“What stood out throughout the challenge was the students’ ability to take a complex sustainability issue and approach it through an engineering and innovation lens,” said Dr. Noha Hussein, Professor of Industrial Engineering at AUS and Research and Innovation Lead for the WiE Society. “The proposals reflected thoughtful research, creativity and an understanding of the need for solutions that are not only technically sound, but also practical and relevant to real-world water challenges.”
AquaSecure from Al Ain University took second place, while HydroGuard from Heriot-Watt University Dubai placed third. AUS had four teams in the final: AquaServe, Liquid Assets, The Hydro Initiative and HydroHer, representing 14 AUS students in total.
“We are delighted that AquaServe won, and equally proud that four AUS teams reached the final,” said Dr. Vian Ahmed, Professor of Industrial Engineering at AUS and Chair of the WiE Society. “The challenge began with water management in the UAE, yet AquaServe speaks to a question faced by data centers elsewhere. Giving young women the opportunity to develop ideas, present them and have them questioned by experts is exactly what we want the WiE Society to encourage.”
Officially established in February 2026, the WiE Society supports women in engineering through mentorship, leadership development, research opportunities and connections with industry. It plans to continue the challenge in future years. Its plans for 2026–2027 include a proposed Industry Circles initiative connecting students with alumni and women industry leaders, support for the Engineering Shadow Program, and workshops on leadership and practical skills.
Source: Emirates News Agency