Abu Dhabi, 10 August 2010: Khalifa University of Science, Technology and Research (KUSTAR) recently hosted a ‘Future Scientists Program’ with students from UAE private and public schools at their two campuses in Abu Dhabi and Sharjah. The program was organized by the Creative Kids Academy, and was sponsored by the Abu Dhabi Education Council and the Advanced Technology Investment Company (ATIC).
A total of 22 students attended the program which included a variety of workshops, scientific experiences and a tour of KUSTAR campuses. The event also included a presentation about the University and KUSTARs research projects such as ANKABUT & EBTIC.
The first day of the program started with a visit to KUSTAR’s campus in Abu Dhabi which was supervised and directed by some of KUSTAR’s professors. Students took part in an Egg Challenge competition which integrated science and entertainment, and aimed to create a structure to see an egg safely transported down 3 floors.
The students visited KUSTAR’s Discovery Centre, which takes visitors through the complex world of silicon technology, from sand to silicon chips. They also toured the Etisalat BT Innovation Centre (EBTIC), KUSTAR's Center of Innovation in Information and Communication Technology and the UAE Advanced Network for Research and Education (ANKABUT), which connects academic and research institutions via high-speed technology to facilitate research collaboration.
The second day of the program commenced with a visit to KUSTAR’s campus in Sharjah, where students were taken on a tour of the various departments. They also sat in a university lecture and carried out laboratory experiments including; robotic demonstrations, solar energy and smart home control demonstrations, curve demonstration, radio signal frequencies and much more.
Dr. Mohammed Al-Mualla, Deputy Director of KUSTAR, said: "Our interest in school students of different levels is in line with our commitment and our dedication to build a new generation able to continue to progress and innovate. We aim to provide students with holistic experiences which bring greater awareness about university, scientific projects and experiments, which will encourage them to study science and technology.
“We find that programs of this nature play a vital role in enhancing the students’ education and they tend to inspire their love for exploration. The students displayed great enthusiasm as they observed the results of their scientific projects, proving that they were instantly affected by the entire experience gained during this program,” he added.
Sumaya Roben Andy, General Manager of Creative Kids Academy, added:
“The Future scientists program aims to enrich the future minds of the world. We took the students for a trip to KUSTAR, it was great, they were really excited about going to see all the wonderful things KUSTAR have; and they were indulged in the presentations, the tour around the discovery center, and experimental activity. The presentations were really informative and gave our students a new perspective of the world. The tour around the discovery center was really neat; it gave a clear overview to our students about microprocessors and how they work. We look forward to have many more events with KUSTAR. “
Many students were thrilled to be a part of this initiative and expressed its importance in their personal development. Hind Abdullah Al Hammadi, a student of Al Butain Private Scientific School, said: “I am very pleased to have participated in the egg competition, which combined fun and science by working as teams using technical methods to preserve and save the egg. I really hope to come back to KUSTAR and take part in further competitions and experiments in the future and possibly even enroll as a student. The tour helped me changed my view about university life and enhanced my concept of the importance of mathematics and other scientific materials on how they can solve many issues we face on a daily basis.”
Student Abdullah Ahmad Al Katheeri said: “I am excited at the prospect of returning to KUSTAR and participating in various activities, as I feel I have gained unique experiences thanks to the Future Scientists Program. The two days spent at KUSTAR allowed me get involved in things I’ve never done before, such as conducting lab experiments and observing student engineering projects under construction. This has been an invaluable experience.”