
Climate change is “the defining issue of our generation,” as described by the UN.
You can say it’s the key issue of Saeed Ur Rehman’s chemical engineering career too.
“There’s an extensive use of fossil fuels in many industries, leading to dangerous emissions when burning the fuels,” he shares. “That causes problems such as changes in weather, global warming, and melting of the ice cap, causing disturbances in the natural ways we live our lives.”
Arctic sea ice is melting at a rate of 12.1% per decade, according to NASA. If this continues, the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change predicts that sea levels may rise by 10 to 23 inches by 2100, making hurricanes, storms, floods, and erosions more dangerous.
These stats matter to scientists working in chemical engineering like Rehman — but before they did, his life started a world away where, like any other high school student, he had to decide what to study at university.

While pursuing his PhD in South Korea, Rehman was a researcher at the Korea Institute of Energy Research. Source: Saeed Ur Rehman
From Pakistan to a global chemical engineering career
Born and raised in Pakistan, Rehman was always interested in the sciences, especially chemistry and physics. When it came to choosing a degree, it was simple.
In Pakistan, those good in science or maths are funnelled into electrical, mechanical, or chemical engineering programmes,” he says. “I chose chemical engineering because I find chemistry easy.”
Rehman pursued a BS in Chemical Engineering at the University of Engineering and Technology Lahore in Lahore, Punjab, Pakistan.
After graduation, he worked as a coordination engineer at William Hare, a leading structural steel engineering group in the United Arab Emirates.
Finding it hard to adapt to the work style there, Rehman decided to pursue a Master’s degree.
After spending a few months at William Hare, Rehman enrolled for a Master’s in Chemical Engineering programme at the American University of Sharjah, just a 30-minute drive from Dubai.
By the time he completed this degree, Rehman had found a new calling: research. “I was interested in getting a PhD, so I went looking for opportunities,” he shares.
A timely PhD in chemical engineering
This time, Rehman’s search led to a PhD programme in Advanced Energy and Technology at the University of Science and Technology (UST) located several time zones away: Daejeon, South Korea.
With what was happening to the planet, he saw that the energy and technology field was where he needed to be.
UST is the only national research institute university in the country, and its education is research field-oriented, something that Rehman was looking for.
In the next five years, Rehman would complete this PhD before becoming a research fellow for Brain Pool, a programme by the Ministry of Science and ICT and the National Research Foundation of Korea to attract top talent from abroad to work in Korean research institutions.
Today, he’s a solid oxide stack expert working in yet another country — this time, it’s Finland, known as the happiest country in the world, and home to Elcogen, a global company that develops and manufactures solid oxide technology for producing green hydrogen and generating emission-free power.
We caught up with Rehman to learn more about his journey in chemical engineering, his PhD in South Korea, and how other students can have a global career like his.

After completing a bachelor’s and master’s degree in chemical engineering, Rehman pursued a PhD in Advanced Energy and Technology at the University of Science and Technology in Daejeon, South Korea. Source: Saeed Ur Rehman
Why did you pursue a PhD in South Korea?
Before pursuing my PhD, I was working in the UAE, but the workstyle did not match my personality and career goals, so I decided to pursue a master’s degree.
After receiving my master’s degree, I thought about returning to work again, but I wanted to pursue a career in research and design (R&D) and a way to do it is to get a PhD, so that’s what I decided to do.
I started looking for opportunities here and there. While looking for opportunities, a few friends pursuing their master’s and PhD degrees in South Korea introduced me to the country.
I was utterly unaware of South Korea. I had yet to determine if it was a good country or a place I wanted to be in. I did my research and decided to apply for PhD programmes.
My friends mentioned that the country is lovely, with good opportunities for students and kind people. However, it was the scholarship that was attractive to me and the chance to work in the National Research Institute.
There’s no shortage of funding for the R&D work you’ll have to do as a PhD student; on top of that, you’ll get a friendly supervisor to guide you, and there’s a lot of opportunity to learn from them.

Rehman has participated in 26 published articles during his time at the American University of Sharjah, the University of Science and Technology, and the Korea Institute of Energy Research. Source: Saeed Ur Rehman.
What were the benefits of getting a PhD in South Korea?
It was the different types of materials I had access to. I got involved in many experiments and met many people in the field.
There’s also no shortage in research funding at the Korea Institute of Energy Research. All I had to do was invest my time and energy into my PhD without worrying about finances.
There are a lot of scientific societies in South Korea, along with many conferences and meetings, such as the International Hydrogen Forum. So you’ll get to meet friendly people and network with them to exchange knowledge.
There are several research institutions in South Korea, so I benefited from that, too, as a PhD student.

Elcogen develops and supplies technology that helps companies transition away from fossil fuels. It has served a total of 130 customers in 30 countries. Source: Saeed Ur Rehman
Having studied in South Korea and the UAE, what would you say are each country’s unique features?
It’s more challenging when you’re studying in South Korea.
But it benefited me because I don’t need to worry about handling that kind of pressure anywhere in the world. You’ll be pretty hardened once you’ve experienced the “harsh conditions” of getting your PhD in South Korea.
When it comes to Middle Eastern countries, on the surface, they look relaxed, and they seem to get work done cooly, but it’s the same amount of work that you’d get when you’re studying in South Korea.
The pressure is what’s different. A way to look at it is the quality of life in the country. If the country has a better quality of life, that will transition into your education.
The UAE has a better quality of life than South Korea, ranking 24th in the 2024 Quality of Life Index, while South Korea is 37th.
However, don’t let the challenge of studying in South Korea put you off. Just because it’s difficult doesn’t mean you won’t be able to do it. Take on the challenge! You’ll gain more experience studying and researching there.
What does a chemical engineer do? Tell us more about your current role as a solid oxide stack expert.
Being a solid oxide stack expert is essential because we’re in the green energy business, and what we do benefits the world.
There’s an extensive use of fossil fuels in many industries, leading to dangerous emissions when burning the fuels.
That causes problems such as changes in weather, global warming, melting of ice caps, tsunamis, and land mass disappearing under the ocean, causing disturbances in the natural ways we live our lives.
That’s where my job comes in. As a solid oxide stack expert, we are trying to achieve a greener way of producing energy or storing it so that it can be reused again and again.
There are always two sides to everything; take hydrogen, for example. No other fuel can get any greener than hydrogen because if you were to burn it, you’d just get water and not any toxic waste.
Europe is now recognising the importance of finding a greener solution, and several companies from different industries are banding together to find ways to become greener.
At Elcogen, we’re currently at the pilot stage, and it’s presently moving up to manufacturing. If we’re successful, we can finally contribute to changing the world by changing how energy is produced and stored.

Today, Rehman is a researcher based in Finland. Source: Saeed Ur Rehman
Do you have any advice for those looking to study abroad?
The first piece of advice is to do your research before jumping on the opportunity. If you do your research, you realise that you may benefit more from a particular country than another.
Through your research, you may also find scholarships. Living abroad will cost a lot, and you may be financially responsible as you’ll have to pay your tuition fees and other expenses.
If you’re unable to get a scholarship but still want to move abroad, you’ll need to remember that earning money while studying is not easy.
A way for you to go about it is by pursuing your bachelor’s degree at an excellent local university, getting the grades, and then moving abroad for your master’s degree, as many scholarships are available.
Choosing your field is essential, too. Nowadays, the most critical fields are artificial intelligence (AI), machine learning, and software development. While they’re famous now, they may fade away in a few years as AI is already pretty advanced.
But mechanical, chemical, and electrical engineering are good degrees you could pursue if you’re into the sciences. Medical science is another field you could look at, as there are not enough people worldwide.
Be smart when choosing your degrees, and always look and think ahead.