Prof. Carole Ayoub Moubareck
Pharmacist (BSc) - Microbiologist (PhD)
Associate Dean of the College of Natural and Health Sciences
THE KULNA initiative
Kulna Mission
In relation to food safety and the impact of food intake on the health status, I have participated to the design of a model for social innovation in food security. Kulna, meaning ‘all of us’ in Arabic, is a unique model for social innovation that addresses current challenges related to food security, health and wellbeing and waste in the UAE. Led by a transdisciplinary team including students, faculty, community volunteers as well as local and international experts at Zayed University, Dubai, our primary aim is to co-design a hands-on learning space inclusive and creative, and food system that is sustainable, fair, healthy and happy. Kulna Garden is located in Wing B entrance in Dubai Campus.
For more information, please check www.kulna.me
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Mangrove Planting & Beach Cleanup by DP World, Dubai
World Food Day
I GROW SEEDS Exhibition
I GROW SEEDS Campaign Intervention & Exhibition, was an event organized in Fall 2019 by the faculty of 5 Design and 2 Biology courses, Microbi Student Club & Kulna Student Club, ECLC and the ZU Kulna Community. Along with ZU students, faculty and staff, in attendance was a special delegation of 4 members from Dubai Health Authority's Corporate Environmental Health & Safety Department, led by ZU alumnus Salama Lahej Alhajeri who is now a Senior Administrative Officer at the said department.
The Compost Project
With Kulna, we are examining with students the potential for recycling organic debris through natural decomposition. This includes the biological processes that transform organic materials into compost, the uses for compost, and the benefits of compost for soils and plant growth. In that context, I have initiated the Compost project in Fall 2017 on both Dubai and Abu Dhabi campuses. Different recipes of compost preparation are now being tested in 18 composting boxes. This project involves the direct participation of microbiology and senior students as well as faculty and staff of several colleges in ZU. I also encouraged the uses of compost for vegetable growth by looking at the benefits of compost when incorporated in the soil of wicking beds.
A presentation on the composting project undertaken alongside Kulna, that I had the opportunity to deliver virtually during the Zayed University Innovation Week, on February 24th 2021. Please click on the slide image above to download the full presentation (50 slides).
Video performed by Fatema, ZU senior student, Fall 2020
Compost presentations, Spring 2018
Students of BIO372, under the supervision of Dr Carole Ayoub Moubareck, followed in Spring 2018 different recipes to prepare Organic Compost on Dubai Campus. They exhibited their achievements in front of an interested public and members of the Food Revolution Research Cluster who listened carefully to their presentations and graded their composts following diverse criteria (odor, color, decomposition status, chemical analysis). The students revealed a real sense of ownership of their work. Some of them donated their Compost to Kuluna Garden to favor vegetable growth on Campus in a sharing spirit within the ZU Community.
Compost presentations, Fall 2017
The College of Natural and Health Sciences with the help of the students taking Microbiology and Water and Solid Waste Management Courses organized a Compost Workshop under the supervision of Carole Ayoub Moubareck as part of the multiple activities of the Research Cluster “Food Revolution for Social Change”. All participants gathered in the garden of Zayed University – Dubai Campus to enjoy the weather and walk in the Compost Alley while talking about compost and organic wastes recycling. The Australian permaculture consultant, Salah Hammed, experts from the Ministry of Education, faculty members and researchers listened to the students presentations, examined their posters and selected the best compost recipe. This event was followed by a lecture on Sustainable Food Production Systems for Desert Cities.
Compost workshop, Fall 2017
A student's compost journey, Fall 2017
