Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid praises Sarah Al Amiri after inclusion on Time100 list

Sheikh Mohammed tweeted after Minister of State for Advanced Technology was named on the Impact Awards list

Sarah Al Amiri, Minister for Advanced Technology and chairwoman of the UAE Space Agency. Christopher Pike / Reuters

Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid, Vice President and Ruler of Dubai, has congratulated Sarah Al Amiri for being included in a Time magazine list that honours change-makers.

Sheikh Mohammed tweeted the praise after the UAE Minister of State for Advanced Technology was named on the Time100 Impact Awards list.

The award recognises people who have “done extraordinary work to shape the future of their industries and the world at large”.

“The daughter of the Emirates ... and my daughter ... Sarah Al Amiri ...” wrote Sheikh Mohammed in Arabic.

“Among the 100 most influential figures in 2022, according to Time international magazine ... We are proud of our young men and women who have distinguished themselves nationally and globally.”

Ms Al Amiri, chairwoman of UAE Space Agency, oversaw the country’s mission to Mars in 2021.

She began her career a decade ago, building satellites after graduating in 2009 from the American University of Sharjah with a bachelor’s degree in computer engineering.

In 2009, she was hired by the Mohammed bin Rashid Space Centre – then called the Emirates Institution for Advanced Science and Technology – to work on the UAE’s first satellite, DubaiSat-1.

Since then, Ms Al Amiri has held many titles, including manager of space science section at the space centre, and she is chairwoman of UAE Council of Scientists.

In a Cabinet reshuffle in 2017, she was appointed as the Minister of State for Advanced Sciences.

She became the chairwoman of the federal agency that manages and supervises the nation’s space sector in 2020.

She was also named Minister of State for Advanced Technology that year.

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