Information About Estidama and the Pearl Rating System
Link to Estidama home page click here
If you have questions for Estidama please email prs.exam@upc.gov.ae
Estidama is the Arabic word for sustainability and an initiative developed by the Abu Dhabi Urban Planning Council (UPC) to achieve the late Sheikh Zayed bin Sultan Al Nahyan's dream. Estidama is an aspiration - a manifestation of visionary governance that puts emphasis on carefully and responsibly managed development. The ultimate goal of Estidama is to preserve and enrich Abu Dhabi's physical and cultural identity, while creating an ever improved quality of life for its residents.
The Pearl Rating System (PRS) is a framework for sustainable design, construction and operation of communities, buildings and villas. The PRS is unique in the world as it is specifically tailored to the hot climate and arid environment of Abu Dhabi. The PRS supports the social and cultural traditions and values of Abu Dhabi. It is part of the Estidama program, a government wide collaborative initiative to improve the lives of all citizens living in the Emirate. The PRS requires accountability of the operational phase of a development to verify performance.
Estidama Testing Information
Two different exams are available. Both are computerized multiple choice exams with 40 questions. One exam is on the Pearl Community Rating System (PCRS) and the other on the Pearl Building Rating System (PBRS). Passing an exam will lead to a certificate that states you are a Pearl Qualified Professional (PQP) in either the PBRS or PCRS, or both, as appropriate. The first candidates to take the exam will be part of the beta testing and will not receive their exam scores until the exam analysis is complete. It is possible that the first PQPs will be notified in Jan 2011.
- PQP certificates can only be issued by the UPC.
- Successfully passing the PQP exam does not guarantee that a PQP certificate will be issued by the UPC.
- In order to obtain a PQP certificate all candidates must demonstrate to the UPC that they satisfy all of the eligibility requirements as outlined within:
https://www.dmt.gov.ae/-/media/F2C2F9CFC1BB4DB5A39339D1CF750023.ashx?download=1 - For the purposes of eligibility verification, the UPC reserves the absolute right to request candidates to provide evidence of their eligibility in order to obtain the Pearl Qualified Professional (PQP) Certificate. Eligibility will be determined at time of requesting a PQP certificate and all eligibility requirements MUST be attained at time of requesting a PQP certificate from the UPC.
Please note: Estidama Pearl rating building and community exams (combined) is no longer available for back to back scheduling. If you wish to take both exams, you'll need to schedule them separately.
For general candidate queries. including scheduling, please dial 0031 320 239 540