Women In Solar - Duaa Kasida, GM - Kasida Engineering Consultancy

Duaa Kasida

General Manager - Kasida Solar Engineering Consultancy

Please Introduce yourself and your role at Kasida Solar Engineer Consultancy

My Name is Duaa Kasida, I graduated as a renewable engineer from Damascus University, worked afterward for several years in several different companies, and acquired experience in renewable engineering, especially in consultancy, designing, and mentoring solar energy projects. From my work experience, I realized that the market needed specialized consultancies in solar energy. This led me and my colleague engineer Ola Dahi to establish Kasida Solar Engineering Consultancy, with one of the main objectives enabling young women engineers in the field.

Can you share your journey into the solar industry? What was it that inspired you to pursue a career in this field?

Throughout my studies Renewable energy always caught my attention as the energy of the future even though at the time in my country it wasn’t seen as very important, I still continued my master's in renewables, and at the same time I kept searching for opportunities in the field, in 2019 the UNICEF was presenting an idea for a project in Yemen, a Yamani company contacted me to work with them on this project and this was my first experience in designing and executing a big solar project which was a first of a kind in Yemen and from there we started a series of similar projects and we established another branch for the company with Yamani partners in UAE as well.

Can you share a significant achievement or milestone in your career that you are particularly proud of? What made it special for you?

What I consider one of my greatest achievements is that I was honored to work with several NGOs in some remote areas in some African countries such as Nigeria, and Uganda,…and countries in the MENA region such as Yemen and Iraq,… besides working on designing the projects, I worked on-site doing the testing and commissioning for the projects and training for local crews, and we were able to help the people get access to essential resources like water and electricity, on the other hand, some of those projects were overly complicated which was a motivating challenge 

If you could give advice to your younger self, what would it be?

The most important advice I could ever give my younger self is “Have more faith in you trust your abilities and when you see an opportunity take it when you see an opportunity take it, gain new skills, meet new people, and learn from mistakes., “It's better to regret what you have done than what you haven't”

How do you see the role of women evolving in the solar industry, particularly in leadership positions? What changes would you like to see?

I believe that every individual regardless of gender should have the opportunity to be in a leadership position if they have the required skills and knowledge and are ambitious for the position, whether a man or a woman. 

I think if we saw more women in leadership positions, companies would start to recognize their achievements and more equal chances would be offered to the young female engineers as to their male peers to prove themselves.

What advice would you give to young women who are considering a career in the solar industry or other renewable energy fields?

The advice that I would give to young solar energy-passionate women is to try your absolute best to take as many courses as possible and learn as much as you can, the hardest thing in this field is to get started with your career and establish yourself, once you get there, things will be easier, many women have done it before and so can you.

About Kasida Solar Engineering Consultancy

We are an engineering firm that specializes in renewable energy and eco-friendly solutions. We offer high-quality design services for solar stations, including commercial, industrial, and residential solar setups and wind power plants. We also provide cutting-edge design solutions for eco-friendly houses and buildings. We support our clients throughout all project stages and offer training services for other companies looking to enter the solar energy market. We focus on delivering unmatched practice and guidance for all renewable energy needs.