Abu Dhabi: Abu Dhabi University (ADU) on Wednesday opened registration for its sixth annual United Arab Emirates Undergraduate Research Competition (URC), held under the patronage Hussain Ebrahim Al Hammadi, Minister of Education.
The competition aims to encourage undergraduate students from various higher education institutions across the seven emirates to expand their critical and analytical thinking abilities through adopting an out-of-the-box mindset to tackle topics of interest in scientific research.
Teams of up to four participants can register and upload their submissions through the university’s website — www.adu.ac.ae/urc — by January 30. An independent expert committee, comprising 60 scientists, engineers and higher education professionals will evaluate the entries.
Shortlisted candidates will present their projects at the URC finale on ADU’s Abu Dhabi campus on April 30. The total value of prizes for the winning teams, this year, will exceed Dh100,000.
Speaking on the competition, Dr Ashraf Khalil, director of Research at ADU and organiser of URC, said: “The ultimate goal of education is to equip graduates with the knowledge and skills to thrive in the future job market. It is imperative for universities to provide students with opportunities to practise research so that they can develop their critical thinking, problem-solving, adaptability and team work capabilities that are crucial in the job market.”
Last year’s edition saw 240 teams from 30 major universities taking part.
