Emirates Foundation announces Think Science Fair 2017 ‘Opening doors to Infinite Possibilities’

ABU DHABI, 9th April 2017: Under the patronage of H.H. Sheikh Abdullah Bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Minister of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation and Chairman of Emirates Foundation, Emirates Foundation, an independent philanthropic organization set up by the Abu Dhabi Government to facilitate public-private partnerships for empowering youth across the UAE will officially inaugurate the 2017 Think Science Fair on April 18-20, 2017 at the Dubai World Trade Centre. Held in partnership with the Ministry of Education and the Abu Dhabi Education Council, the Think Science Fair is the region’s largest student science exhibition that aims to empower youth between the ages of 15-35 to actively engage with the digital revolution and provides them with the right platform to innovate and deploy technology to pursue STI education and careers. With 1380 submission, Think Science Competition 2017 has witnessed a 51% increase in the number of projects, and around 300 will be featured at the fair. These projects represent the work of more than 820 youth from across the UAE, all of which have entered the competition under the guidance of 215 mentors and supervisors from educational institutions across the UAE. The annual Think Science Fair is a multi-faceted event. It features the Competition, a cornerstone that has introduced four new scientific categories this year aiming at addressing current challenges in their respective fields - Health and biomedical systems, systems for visual and hearing disabilities, road safety systems, materials sciences and applied chemistry. The Fair also includes the Think Science Connect, an engagement initiative connecting young people with a strategic scientific network, as well as several interactive performances, workshops and educational sessions. The Fair also acts as a platform to connect youth with experts through motivational sessions that focus on key areas in education and innovation; facilitated Q & A sessions that allow participants to hear from scientists who have made careers out of their passion, and a wide range of innovative and interactive workshops such as Life in Space and Energy offered by Mohammed bin Rashid Space Centre , in addition to interactive experiential workshops in Physics and Chemistry and a youth dialogue to discuss the main challenges faced by youth in taking their innovations to the next level, as well as workshops offered by Mohammed bin Rashid Establishment for Small and Medium Enterprise Development. The Fair will also host 45 companies, organizations and institutes who offer career advice and many scientific hands-on activities to those in attendance. These include Emirates Foundation partners who provided their support year after year: Abu Dhabi National Oil Company (ADNOC), Total EP UAE, Occidental Petroleum Corporation, Shell, Etihad Airways, and Dubai Electricity and Water Authority. Participating connect partners in this year’s Fair also include: Waha Capital PJSC, Dolphin Energy Limited, CH2M, Honeywell, Emirates Nuclear Energy Corporation, Hamdan Bin Rashid Al Maktoum Award for Distinguished Academic Performance, National Electronic Security Authority and British Council. Maytha Al Habsi Deputy CEO at Emirates Foundation, said: "Think Science Fair is part of our drive to have a positive and sustainable impact on the lives of Emirati youth and translate the vision of our leadership to promote a knowledge based economy. Through this initiative we aim to inspire, encourage and recognize youth across UAE and provide them with opportunities to further develop their knowledge and analytical thinking, and enable participation in solving local and global technological issues." Al Habsi continued: "Today, I feel proud of the innovation and scientific excellence and creative potentials of Emirati youth who demonstrate a successful model for Arab youth characterized with confidence and armed with scientific skills, strong will and determination. I urge all industry partners and stakeholders to interact and connect with these young scientists at the Fair this month and provide them with all forms of support to achieve the desired goals and encourage them to choose scientific fields as a course of study and future career path." The Think Science Fair comprises a large-scale exhibition of youth projects from high schools and universities competing across 17 scientific categories as well as experiential activities in Science, Engineering, Oil & Gas, Energy, Aviation and Technology hosted by leading companies and organizations in the science and technology sphere. Over the past four years, the Fair has succeeded in attracting over 2,140 youth from across the UAE with around 800 projects covering a wide range of scientific categories. The Fair has also attracted a large number of connect partners who have directly interacted and supported over 37,000 youth visitors from high schools and universities from across the nation. http://wam.ae/en/details/1395302607454