Reflection on 2025! A Year Under Pressure

Lessons from Underwater Diving

2025 tested me hard. Close family severe health issues. Some investments losses in my home country . Organizational restructuring. Projects are under strain. Add to that a small but toxic dose of close friends’ politics, betrayal, jealousy, and quiet hostility, yes losing money generally means losing some friends — this wasn’t an exception.

It wasn’t a comfortable year. It wasn’t meant to be.

Still, I stayed disciplined. Spartan discipline. Working out six days a week. Head up, pushing forward against the wind. No drama. No excuses.

I kept smiling every morning, supporting my team—developing new technologies, exploring AI and IoT in areas no one touched before, moving between biology, marine science, biomechanics, botany, and data science. Despite the geopolitics uncertainty and international environment, and despite my personal situation, I was smiling every day doing what I did best. Some call this boldness. Others call it courage. A few call it madness. And the truth is simple: I was having a lot of fun doing what I love to do.

I kept my eyes on the only thing that matters for me, solving problems that haven’t been solved before, , and building work that will matter to the environment decades from now—not just until the next report cycle.

Clarity of purpose and consistency changes things.

Without surprises, that consistency led me to new scientific breakthroughs, strategic board roles, international funding, academic engagement, and collaboration with universities and public institutions.

The skills that helped me this year, I learned them  elsewhere—in sport competitions, mountains and particularly underwater.

In diving, there’s no room for ego. Your safety depends on the team. You don’t just watch your own air; you watch your buddy’s. Miss that, and consequences are immediate. Underwater, teamwork isn’t a slogan—it’s survival.

The same rule applies to research, innovation, and complex problem-solving. Progress only happens when people share information, challenge assumptions, and move in the same direction. Nothing else is noise.

Whether it’s marine conservation, sustainable farming, camel nutrition, honeybee research, or aquaculture, outcomes improve when collaboration is real. AI and IoT help collect and process data—but they don’t replace trust, communication, and coordinated decisions. People do.

Strong teams operate well under pressure. Exactly like a dive plan: clear roles, constant checks, shared responsibility.

That’s how meaningful work gets done.

I was never alone. I was fortunate to have a strong team by my side Nabil Mansour, Ph.D, Dr.habil  Khawla Alyammahi Simon Zerisenay Maryam Alhefeiti  Dr. François Mitterand TSOMBOU  Lola Lubrina Youssouf Belaid Moncef Walid SALHI

We moved forward together, through pressure and uncertainty, and that made the difference.

 Momentum comes from people, not titles.

Happy New Year 2026, Keep moving. Never give up!