Dr Majid Al Qassimi's love for nature exposed him to fields as diverse as animal welfare, music, teaching and environment. He thanks his German grandfather for fuelling his creativity.
ABU DHABI // Dr Majid Al Qassimi is a man of many talents.
As well as being a director at the Environment Agency Abu Dhabi, the 33-year-old Emirati is a trained veterinarian, a drummer and a keen carpenter.
Dr Al Qassimi’s mother is German, and it was time spent with her family that cultivated his love of science and nature.
“Ever since I was small, I would go to visit the German side of my family, and my grandfather would take me to the forest, to cut wood and go walking.”
Dr Al Qassimi grew up in Sharjah before moving to Dubai at the age of 15.
But it was one summer spent on work experience that the profession he wanted to follow became clear to him.
“I was fortunate to spend two months of my summer at the central veterinary research library under the guidance of [pioneer veterinary surgeon and camel specialist] Dr Ulrich Wernery and I understood that the country was lacking in the profession as well,” he said.
After studying in the UK, he took his final degree in Hungary, before returning to the UAE to work with the EAD.
But his path here was almost distracted by his love for music.
He had played the drums since he was a teenager and was a member of one band that has now become a moderate success – Asking Alexandria.
Dr Al Qassimi said he started the British rock band “with a bunch of kids in school” but they went on to “get really big in the US”.
During a university summer holiday, Dr Al Qassimi was asked to tour with the band but, despite the lead singer’s pleas, he put his studies first.
“He begged my mother to try to get me to go, but you know, there are priorities,” he said.
Trying to constantly keep both his mind and hands engaged, Dr Al Qassimi has tried a number of hobbies.
The latest of them is carpentry.
“It’s also tied to my grandfather. He’s a man who’s had 37 professions and he’s always worked with his hands and I wanted to continue that,” Dr Al Qassimi said.
“Wood as an organic material speaks to me.”
Although the region’s desert landscape is hardly abundant with trees, Dr Al Qassimi finds his material with repurposed wood from old dhows or shipping crates.
He said that carpentry was an outlet for his need to work with his hands, now that he had moved away from vet work into a more managerial role.
Dr Al Qassimi said: “I’m a father of a one-year-old boy now, and I want to make sure that I am an educator for both my son, the youth, and future generations to come.”
nalwasmi@thenational.ae
