Dubai: The National Science, Technology and Innovation (NSTI) Festival welcomed renowned speakers at its Students Forum day on Friday.
The five-day festival, which began on Thursday, is being held at Dubai Festival Arena till Monday.
Under the patronage of His Highness Shaikh Mohammad Bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi and Deputy Supreme Commander of the UAE Armed Forces, the festival is being held as part of the UAE Innovation Month.
Leading Friday’s session was Dr Amnah Al Dahak Al Shamsi, assistant undersecretary of the activities sector and director of Innovation and Entrepreneurship Department at the Ministry of Education, who announced the introduction of Masterpieces, Diplomacy and Sports ambassador, in addition to Innovation, Giving and Future ambassador programmes at the ministry.
Omar Saif Gobash, the UAE Ambassador to France and author of ‘Letters to A Young Muslim’, gave an inspirational talk to students titled ‘Letters to Young Scientists’.
Astronaut Mike Massimino, a Columbia University professor and the first person to tweet from space, said: “I’m thrilled to be here and have the opportunity to speak to the students and some of the educators and tell them some of my experiences and how education plays an important role in fulfilling and reaching your dreams, which is what happened to me.”
Dr Rick Sommer, executive director of Pre-Collegiate Studies, Stanford University, said: “The idea is not only to give students exposure to advanced topics and a range of academic fields, but to get them to engage in learning and ignite their passions for them to find ways to discover what their talents and interests are in a way that is different to what they would normally get in schools.”
Muzon Ali Al Abdouli and Reem Ali Al Abdouli, the “space sisters” who were part of the Al Yah 3 satellite launch in Africa, spoke about their experience during the launch.
Royal visit
The first day of the forum was attended by Hussain Ebrahim Al Hammadi, Minister of Education; Jameela Salem Al Muhairi, Minister of State for Public Education; and Dr Ahmad Abdullah Humaid Bel Houl Al Falasi, Minister of State for Higher Education and Advanced Skills.
Also on Thursday, His Highness Shaikh Mohammad Bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice-President and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai, toured the different halls of the festival, along with other ministers.
New agreements
The Ministry of Education has concluded three memoranda of understanding.
The first memorandum of understanding was signed with Udacity, a US educational organisation with a focus on programming skills and artificial intelligence. The MoU aims to create bridges for closer cooperation between the two parties to develop technological education in the UAE.
Under the agreement, the ministry will provide 175 scholarships for students to join the Udacity programme.
The second MoU, with the UAE General Authority of Sports, will see the two parties work on developing designs for school sports facilities, imparting skills to gifted athletes, and mainstreaming people with disabilities into various sports programmes.
The third MoU, with Stanford Pre-Collegiate Studies, is to provide opportunities for academically talented students from the UAE to experience the academic and social aspects of the American college life and culture at Stanford University.
