Abu Dhabi: United Arab Emirates (UAE) astronaut Sultan Al Neyadi, has been named as the ‘Overall Outstanding International Alumni’ at the Outstanding Alumni Awards 2023 at Griffith University, Australia.
Al Neyadi had obtained his Master’s degree in Information and Network Security and had completed his PhD in data leakage prevention technology.
The announcement was made by Mohammed bin Rashid Space Centre (MBRSC) by sharing a video on X, formerly Twitter on Saturday, September 16.
“Throughout my academic life at Griffith University, I made so many friends that are now helping humanity to live better. To all my fellow alumni, and as a representative of Griffith University, I would like to say thank you for everything do and thank you for the Outstanding International Alumni award,” Al Neyadi said in a video.
Meanwhile, Professor Vallipuram Muthukkumarasamy, School of Information and Communication Technology, Griffith University, Nominator, said, “Sultan was one of the remarkable students in my journey as a teacher over 30 years. Sultan’s journey will not only inspire young people, also his peers. They look up to him and say: ‘Look, Sky is the limit, literally’.
The 42-year-old Al Neyadi took off from Earth on March 3 and spent 186 days in space to complete the first long-duration human spaceflight mission undertaken by an Arab aboard the ISS.
He made history for the second time when he became the first Arab to perform a spacewalk, an extravehicular activity (EVA), in the vacuum of outer space outside the ISS on April 28.
Al Neyadi and his crewmates on NASA’s SpaceX Crew-6 returned to Earth aboard SpaceX’s Dragon’s Endeavor spacecraft, landing at 8:17 am Gulf Time on Monday, September 4, off the coast of Jacksonville, Florida.
On Thursday, September 14, Al Neyadi was honoured with the ‘Personality of the Year’ award at the 10th Sharjah Government Communication Award (SGCA).z
Al Neyadi is scheduled to arrive in the UAE on Monday, September 18.
