All Emirati team to represent UAE at robotic challenge

Dubai - The competition aims to address the world's most critical environmental issues such as wastage of water and energy.

An all Emirati team of three boys and two girls will represent the UAE for the '2019 First Global DXB Challenge', a global robotic competition, set to take place from October 24-27. To be held for the first time in the region, the third edition of this global event will witness participation from 1,500 youth from over 191 countries.
One of the most significant events of its kind, the competition aims to address the world's most critical environmental issues such as wastage of water and energy, pollution and sustainability through a robotics challenge. The theme for the event 'Ocean Opportunities' will focus on developing robots to clean the millions of tons of pollutants in the sea.
Omar bin Sultan Al Ulama, Minister of State for Artificial Intelligence and Deputy Managing Director of Dubai Future Foundation, and Khalfan Belhoul, chief executive officer, Dubai Future Foundation, announced details of the challenge to the media on Tuesday at the foundation headquarters.
The minister also provided profiles of the students participating from the UAE. In response to a question from Khaleej Times, Al Ulama said: "The team representing the UAE comprises of five students and two substitutes. Three boys and two girls from the Rashid Bin Saeed School in Hatta and Dibba School in Fujairah are the primary competitors."
The participants, including the substitute students, are - Hamad Albedawi, Sheikha Al Soreidi, Abdullah Ameen, Ghazi Alshareef, Mohamed Elashker, Abdulrahman Alkaabi and Shouq Al Dhanhani. Their mentors are Safwa Khalid and Mohammed Fathi.
He said: "We are delighted with the team as they are ambitious, have many ideas, and they represent what the UAE stands for." The team has also won multiple robotics competitions in the past in China and other countries.
Teamwork, not competition is key
Al Ulama added: "The young girls are very knowledgeable and although they come from different schools, they work in a very cohesive manner. The students represent UAE's ambition of going forward in the STEM field, and we are excited to see them compete with the best students from across the globe."
Commenting on the theme of the competition, Khalfan said: "The theme is a combined selection between the Dubai Future Foundation and First Global. Ocean pollution, climate change and energy conservation are big issues that need to be prioritised. We hope it will engage the youth."
Khalfan also said that the winning students would be given medals and students also stand a chance to receive scholarships from top educational institutions the likes of Yale University, Stanford and MIT.
dhanusha@khaleejtimes.com

• Dubai