A case study: Dr Hamada Alshaer’s path towards immigration to the UK
Top-tier members of the academia are in high demand and are drawn to live and work in the UK, and many of them choose LanguageCert as their go-to exam for immigration purposes. One such individual is Dr Hamada Alshaer, who came to the UK from the UAE in 2015 to follow his career ambitions and has been granted British citizenship in addition to his French nationality.

As Hamada was born in Palestine, his first language is Arabic and from a young age he had a flair with languages. His love of reading is how he originally became interested in learning new languages and understanding human communications in various civilizations. Therefore, he now speaks English, and also French, German, and Urdu.

Hamada obtained his degrees with the support of selective scholarship schemes and achieved a PhD in Computer Engineering and Telecommunication from one of the top universities in France, Pierre et Marie Curie University in December 2005.

After completing his PHD, Hamada was keen to explore his chosen industry and career prospects in cutting edge research. This includes software-defined mobile and wireless systems and networking, with industrial applications to small cell networks virtualization and integration, Internet of Things (IoT), 5G core networks, cyber security, and intelligent transport systems.

“You have to grab opportunities, move forwards and succeed – there is no walking backwards,” he said.

Why LanguageCert:
Hamada took a LanguageCert SELT B1 test to complete his UK citizenship application requirements and when researching SELT providers, he was pleased to find that LanguageCert was very competitively priced: “Overall it was a really nice experience. I booked my test online and it was very straightforward. The test was practical and fair,” Hamada said.

Passing the LanguageCert SELT B1 has enabled him to focus on his future career ambitions. He has, so far, authored over 50 articles on various research topics in electrical and computer engineering, including information technology and systems and has also authored a book.

He now works as a senior researcher at the University of Strathclyde and lives in Edinburgh with his wife, who joined him from Palestine earlier this year. He is excited and ambitious about the future.

He said: “Although the weather is unpredictable, we really like Edinburgh and have no current plans to move.”