DOHA: For the first time in Doha, 12 scientists from Qatar pitched their projects at the world’s largest science communications competition — FameLab 2016.
The global initiative gave participants with passion for public engagement three minutes to present a project of their choice.
The initiative of the British Council initiative, in partnership with The Times Cheltenham Science Festival; and Qatar National Research Fund (QNRF), was held in collaboration with the Ministry of Education and Higher Education, Qatar University (QU) and Hamad Bin Khalifa University (HBKU).
More than 65 students, 45 teachers and 55 researchers applied to take part in the inaugural event. Divided into two categories, 12 participants made it through to the national final held at HBKU’s Student Centre in Education City.
After each contestant gave their presentation before an audience and a panel of judges, Aida Ra’fat was awarded first place in the ‘Aspiring Scientists’ category, and Ro’aa Adel was the overall winner of the ‘Young Scientists’ contest. “FameLab Qatar — in its first cycle — has proven to be an innovative platform for enabling young scientists, high school students, teachers and engineers in Qatar to share their passion for science, technology, engineering and maths with the public,” said Dr Abdul Sattar Al Taie, Executive Director, QNRF.
“We are very proud of the winners and would like to invite high school students, STEM teachers, scientists and professionals to participate in this engaging competition in the coming years to help achieve Qatar National Vision 2030,” he added.
Ra’fat will now take part in the international FameLab final at The Times Cheltenham Science Festival in June.
Adel will participate in the finals at the London International Science Youth Forum, where she will meet young scientists from all around the world. “I was really excited when I got through because I was given the opportunity to meet a lot of interesting people working in the same industry,” said Aida. “The majority of them are researchers, so it has been a very inspiring experience. It has been a little stressful, but that’s normal. I really enjoyed it.”
The ‘Young Scientists’ winner, 16-year old high-school student Adel, believes that her innovative contributions to science and medicine will make the world a better place.
The Peninsula
