Under the patronage of Mohammed bin His Highness
Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi and Deputy Supreme
Commander of the UAE Armed Forces, the National Science, Technology and Innovation
(NSTI) Festival is launched tomorrow at Dubai Festival Arena from 15 – 19 February
2018. NSTI is organized by the Ministry of Education (MOE) in the framework of the
UAE Innovation Month. NSTI will include a variety of initiatives and activities.
Great number of activities and programs that satisfy
the taste of the various social categories and age groups are to be held this year,
in addition to the new initiatives which reflect the growing importance of the role
of science and technology in promoting UAE economic development. Such initiatives
include the Family Festival, Industrial Revolution X (IR-X) Program and the UAE
Young Scientist Award.
Her Excellency Jameela Al Muhairi, Minister of
State for Public Education, stressed that the importance of NSTI organized by the
MOE is increasing in the light of the national guidance rendering innovation the
starting point of great well-paced breakthroughs based on modern science and knowledge.
She referred to that the NSTI has become a qualitative event that adds skills and
experiences that cope with the present stage and future horizons of comprehensive
development and industrial revolution to the educational realm.
She explained that the NSTI translates the UAE’s
aspirations and good leadership’s vision of highlighting innovation in its comprehensive
and integrated concept and devotion of efforts to employ in the various fields of
life, and pointed out to that the MOE considers NSTI to be a platform of encouraging
students and the whole society to apply creative thinking and to deem innovation
a lifestyle and a direction that they follow during their whole lives.
She believes that MOE adopts an innovation-centered
educational philosophy in its curricula, activities and events that aim at bringing
up a generation that is capable of dealing with the future variables with the appropriate
scientific and cognitive tools and skills.
She said that the NSTI is an available opportunity
for students and all social categories to be entertained and to identify the latest
sequential developments of sciences, technologies, modern techniques, artificial
intelligence models and developed educational solutions. She indicated that the
NSTI is an integrated festival because it includes a variety of proceedings, programs,
competitions, initiatives, sessions and workshops held by world educational experts
and leaders. She referred to that such variation enriches the attendants’ cognitive
stock and provides the visiting families and individuals with much entertainment
and benefits.
Dr. Amna Al Dahak Al Shamsi, Assistant Undersecretary
of the Activities Sector and Director of Innovation and Entrepreneurship Department
at the MOE said that the NSTI adopts a new approach this year to stimulate the visitors’
interest and participation. She said that they seek to offer the young people and
future generation an ideal chance to acquire scientific and technological cognitions
and experiences. She said that they believe that the skills included in the NSTI
will contribute to an innovation-based educational mobility.
She added that the excellent students who took
part in the Science exhibition, IR-X and Fikrati (my idea) Competition will be honored.
The winners in four basic genres; namely technology, social and behavioral sciences,
biological and environmental science and chemistry, physics and mathematics will
be honored.
She pointed out to that there are several categories
of awards which cope with the UAE national strategy of innovation and the students
will have the chance to participate in the various competition categories. She stated
that the NSTI dedicate the UAE Young Scientist to be awarded for the first time
to one distinguished scientific project that introduces an innovative and prominent
idea that appeals to the evaluation panel in the Science Exhibition.
Then, she talked about the applications, stating
that 937 application forms were checked; 618 forms are made in the Science Exhibition
and 319 in the Fikrati Competition. She added that based on the evaluations of the
panel of the applications received, 100 projects implemented by 233 students in
the Science Exhibition and 77 innovative idea introduced by primary stage students
in Fikrati Competition were approved.
The accompanying conference
The accompanying conference will be attended by
a number of UAE Ministers of State, UAE dignitaries and international speakers who
will deal with various topics on the conference agenda. The list of speakers from
the UAE includes His Excellency Eng. Hussain bin Ibrahim Al Hammadi, HE Jameela
bint Salem Mesbeh Al Muhairi, HE Dr. Dr. Bin Abdullah Humaid Belhoul Al Falasi,
HE Sarah bint Yousif Al Amiri, HE Omar bin Sultan Al Olama, HE Omar Saif Ghobash,
and HE Dr. Amna Al Dhahak Al Shamsi, Masood Sharif Mahmood, Miss Amal Al-Jabri,
CEO of Cognit, Alia Al Mansouri and Abdullatif Al Sayegh.
The list of international speakers will include:
Mike Massimino, former NASA astronaut, Professor Sebastian Thrun, Chief Executive
Officer of Audacity and Kitty Hawk; Rick Sommer, Executive Member, Board of Directors,
Stanford University Institute of Pre-University Studies, Dr. Tony Scott, founder
of the Young Scientist and Technology Exhibition in Ireland. Speakers will discuss
important topics related to education, science, technology and innovation.
IR-X
NSTI will witness the launch of IR-X Program. IR-X
is an unprecedented cultural program developed and supported in partnership with
local as well as international organizations. On the sidelines of IR-X, out of 496
applications, 78 students’ projects will participate in a three-day "Idea Design"
workshop aimed at providing students with knowledge, skills and practical experience
in the technological aspects of the Fourth IR-X. After finishing their training,
the participants will be qualified for the next stage.
Family Festival
The Family Festival offers activities combining
the entertainment and educational aspects, including live science and entertainment
presentations by the Swiss Science Center "Technorama" and "Nutty
Scientist", as well as the "LED Robot" and musical performance by
the UAE-Japanese Khrasha drum band, which will add some fun to these events.
Jacques Rodríguez, a London-based musician, singer
and music teacher, will also introduce entertaining performances throughout the
five-day festival along with music workshops that of 300 participants of all ages.
The Family Festival will be attended by 14 experimental
stations from the Swiss Science Center, Technorama. They will introduce perception-,
mechanic functions-, aerodynamics-, plasma-, energy-, puzzling- and sound-related
phenomena experiments.
The visitors will have the chance to take part
in the artistic activities held by Medaf Studio and The JamJar workshops. The visitors
also will participate interactively in drawing on the “Graffiti Wall” prepared Zayed
University’s students. As for astronautics lovers, they will be able to identify
anything related to space by interacting with the UAE Mars Mission. They will be
able also to acquire information about satellites and future residential strategies
offered to them by Mohammed Bin Rashid Space Centre (MBRSC).
The Ministry of Climate Change and Environment
will offer an interactive partition through which it will guide students about the
environmental challenges and the world climate change, while The Ministry of Community
Development will hold the Innovation Laboratory for the Deaf.
The Festival will feature a series of workshops
organized by Pixel Hunters, the famous game design company, including a 'Think as
a Game Designer' workshop that will attract both gaming and virtual reality enthusiasts.
Families can also enjoy a unique experience during the Festival which is offered
by Hyperloop Transportation Technologies, which will introduce dreamers to the dreamers
with effects that mimic future capsules designed to transport passengers from Abu
Dhabi to Al Ain in just 9 minutes.
On the sidelines of the Festival, the Family Festival
will hold the 3D printing competition, which will be attended by 150 students from
public and private schools on Sunday, 18 February 2018. The participating students
will be asked to design and manufacture artificial intelligence models provided
with sustainable elements and to print the design on a "poster" in a way
that illustrates the concept and concept of their project.
The Family Festival will include a water plantation
farm that will introduce the innovative methods adopted by the UAE for growing plants
using mineral nutrient solutions in water.
For more entertainment, the Family Festival provides
the high taste food lovers with a great opportunity to experience a variety of international
cuisine upon strolling among popular food trucks like Mr. Brisket, Moylos, The Spot,
Qout Café, Elganza Café, Kubba and others. Mixed ice cream lovers using scientific
methods and products can enjoy the taste of ice cream dessert made by NO2 Ice Cream.
Days of entertainment activities
The Family Festival is the ideal destination for
family-like atmosphere and for enjoying the entertainment and kids’ activities.
On Friday, February 16the, the Family Festival will host Ukelele Day, where Jacques
Rodríguez will teach 300 lucky visitors how to play the guitar. On Saturday, February
17th, parents and children will be invited to create an innovative idea and transform
it into an outfit to be worn on the day the “Future Outfit”.
Partners
The NSTI Festival is being organized within the
UAE Innovation Month in a strategic partnership with the Mohammed Bin Rashid Establishment
for SME Development. The program has been strengthened by the support of partners
such as Al Watan Fund, as well as supporting knowledge partners such as the Ministry
of Climate Change and the Environment, the Ministry of Community Development, the
Dubai Academy of Entrepreneurship, MBRSC, Audacity, the Swiss Science Center of
Technorama, Dubai Customs, Telecommunications Regulatory Authority, Zayed University,
and other partners.