ABU DHABI, 9th March, 2023 (WAM) — Emirates Global Aluminium (EGA) on Thursday announced the winners of ‘The EGA Aluminium Design and Innovation Challenge’, a competition held in partnership with Emirates Schools Establishment (ESE) and BMW Group to inspire and raise school students’ interest in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM).
The winning teams were recognised by Hessa Ahmed Rasheed, Executive Director of School Development Sector at Emirates Schools Establishment, and Abdulnasser bin Kalban, Chief Executive Officer of EGA, at a ceremony held at EGA Al Taweelah in Abu Dhabi.
Hessa Rasheed of Emirates Schools Establishment said, “The EGA Aluminium Design and Innovation Challenge is a vital initiative that reinforces EGA and Emirates Schools Establishment collaborative efforts to encourage and nurture students' interest in STEM education and help establish a strong foundation for the future of our workforce.
“The Establishment continues to build bridges of cooperation and coordination with all partners in the public and private sectors, to support students in their academic and practical journey by involving them in many pioneering programs to qualify them for the future.”
She congratulated the students who won the challenge, expressing her great confidence in their abilities and skills, wishing them all the luck in the future.
Out of 105 team applications received across the UAE, 20 teams were shortlisted to participate in the competition. Shortlisted students from grades nine to 12 were invited to apply their STEM skills to creatively design an innovative project using aluminium in one of the four challenge categories – architecture, green solutions, product design and sustainable mobility.
The winning teams in each category are Jameela Bu Heired School in the Architecture category; Al Ma'arif 2 School in the Green solutions category; Al Maseera School in the Product design category; and Dubai National School – Twar in the Sustainable mobility category.
EGA Chief Executive Officer said, "Achieving our national goals requires more young people to study and ultimately pursue careers in science, technology, engineering and mathematics. The high number of applications for ‘The EGA Aluminium Design and Innovation Challenge’ shows the interest amongst students in these subjects. The high quality of the entries gives me great confidence that the coming generation will reach new heights for our country. Congratulations to all the winners.”
‘The EGA Aluminium Design and Innovation Design Challenge’ is part of EGA’s ‘Engineer the Future’ programme, which introduces school students in the UAE to the real-life application in industry of science, technology, engineering and mathematics.
Over the course of four weeks, students were mentored by young EGA engineers. The students were also provided with the necessary resources and tools to complete their projects.
In addition, EGA also runs an annual industrial robotics competition that aims to provide university engineering students with real-life experience of robotics, automation, and big data. Last year, EGA programmes inspired young people’s interest in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics reached more than 6,000 students.