The 1st National Conference on Civil & Architectural Engineering, 2018 (1st NCCAE 2018) organized by the Department of Civil & Architectural Engineering of the College of Engineering at Sultan Qaboos University was commenced on 26 March at the University under the patronage of H.E. Engineer Mohsen bin Mohammed Al Shaikh, Chairman, Muscat Municipality. This conference is an initiative of the Civil and Architectural Engineering Department at the College of Engineering, Sultan Qaboos University, in response to the development that the Sultanate is witnessing in the building and construction sector, either in infrastructure or in urban development, and in line with the college and university plans for community engagement.

Speaking at the opening ceremony of the conference, Prof. Hadj Bourdoucen, Dean of the College of Engineering at SQU, said that the conference, related to research and applications in Civil and Architectural Engineering, would help create a scientific space for the exchange of experiences and presenting research and sharing the current and expected challenges. “The College of Engineering is keen to provide all means of success to such events.  The organizing committee and all university cooperating units have worked diligently to prepare for this event with one thing in mind, achieving the objectives of the conference”, he said.

Dr. Ali Al Nuaimi, Head of the Department of Civil & Architectural Engineering, said that the conference has been named “national” in an attempt to provide a forum for discussion of all subjects related to the plans and development projects undertaken in the Sultanate. “Due to the importance of this kind of gathering for the exchange of ideas and experiences, the department of Civil and Architectural Engineering would like to hold this kind of conference periodically”, he said.

The conference would discuss the contribution of different civil and architectural engineering disciplines in the national development needs in different construction projects and explore how to benefit from previous projects and experiences in the design and construction of projects. Other topics include sustainability in construction projects; construction efficiency and energy savings; and environmental preservation and material recycling. These themes are being discussed over three days with more than 70 papers, peer-reviewed by a scientific committee, in addition to five presentations by keynote speakers.

The accompanying exhibition is divided into two parts:  One by the participants with more than 35 displays, and another by the civil and architectural engineering society with more than 15 architectural displays.