Dubai: Winning ideas from Dubai schoolchildren, who were honoured in the Young Innovators Competition award ceremony on Tuesday, will be presented to government departments, a senior official said.
The ideas cover a variety of topics from transport to renewable energy, and include students’ vision of a futuristic Dubai in 2050, said Marwan Al Sawaleh, undersecretary of the Ministry of Education.
Tuesday’s ceremony, held at Raffles Dubai hotel, comes as part of the second annual UAE Innovation Week (November 20-26) that is displaying projects by government departments, companies and students.
The honouring event was held in collaboration between the ministry and the Dubai Government Human Resources Department (DGHRD). The competition was launched a year ago to encourage creativity among students.
Al Sawaleh and Amal Bin Adi, director-general of DGHR department, toured an exhibition of the winning projects of the students, who came from 13 schools in Dubai.
The winners were from grade 3 to grade 12 and covered three different categories — painting ideas, scriptwriting and solving problems. The selection process of the competition went through several phases of assessments by jurors chosen by the ministry and DGHRD.
On Tuesday, Al Sawaleh and Bin Adi presented the awards, which included cash prizes, to the winners.
Al Sawaleh told Gulf News the students’ ideas were “marvellous” and officials would assess their potential for implementation. “I’ve been pleased to see the creativity that the students came up with. You can see the future in their eyes and in their hands and drawings. It is a good investment for the country,” he said.
During the ceremony, Bin Adi said the UAE leadership is keen to establish innovation as a way of life in the country. She added that His Highness Shaikh Mohammad Bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice-President and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai, has said that innovation is not an option but a necessity, and has stressed the vital role of youth in nation building.
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First place winners — Young Innovators Competition 2016
Painting Ideas
Stage one (Grade three to five): Ghazi Al Dousari from Al Ahmadia Model School
Stage two (Grade six to nine): Zaynab Khanji from Umm Suqeim Model School
Stage three (Grade 10 to 12): Rawda Al Bishrey from Asma Bint Al Nouman Model School
Scriptwriting
Stage two: Mira Bin Darwish from Al Ibdaa Model School
Stage three: Mariam Mohammad from Asma Bint Al Nouman Model School,
Solving Problems
Stage two: Khawla Ashkinani and Mira Abdul Rahim from Asma Bint Al Nouman Model School
Stage three: Mariam Abdullah, Shamma Naser, Unoud Ahmad, and Jawaher Khalil from Asma Bint Al Nouman Model School
