DEWA awards Robotics Competition winners

Monday 21 March 2016

Dubai - MENA Herald: Dubai Electricity and Water Authority (DEWA) organised the DEWA Robotics Competition Ceremony, to honour the winners and participants of the DEWA Robotics Competition, which was held during Innovation Week 2015, at the Future Dome in DEWA’s head office. HE Saeed Mohammed Al Tayer, MD & CEO of DEWA, was present, along with Executive Vice Presidents and Vice Presidents from DEWA. The move supports the National Innovation Strategy, launched by HH Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice President and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai, to make the UAE one of the most innovative nations in the world.
“We are pleased to be honouring the winners of the Robotics Competition for schools, which was organised by DEWA to take place during Innovation Week to celebrate our innovative achievements, supporting the directives of HH Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, to encourage innovation and enhance the UAE’s international position in this field,” said Al Tayer.
“DEWA has adopted innovation as a major pillar and as a government value. We work to implement the directives of HH Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, to improve government services and performance, encouraging a culture of innovation, and spreading it as a standard procedure, to develop government services, overcome challenges, and contribute to improving administrative government work.
The Robotics Competition, in addition to other activities organised to take place during Innovation Week, aims to offer new ideas, improve performance, and achieve higher results, encouraging a culture of innovation as a standard,” added Al Tayer.
Al Tayer noted that DEWA makes use of an integrated strategy to implement innovative ideas and suggestions, while using science and technology to benefit society. This contributes to providing easier, and more user-friendly services that adhere to the highest international standards, to achieve the happiness of citizens, residents, and stakeholders, supporting DEWA’s vision to become a sustainable innovative world-class utility.
The 5 top projects were awarded during the ceremony, and all 94 participants received certificates. The criteria in which participants were judged on included recycling, sustainability, energy, technology, security, and safety.
The Dubai International School won first place for its project, called Sunflower Street. Bilva Indian School came second for its Toto-the-water-saver project to find leaks and stop them. Al Khansa School for Girls came third for its moving Robo-file. Ahmed bin Rashid School came fourth for its amphibian vehicle and Rashid Bin Saeed School came fifth for its Smart City that uses solar and wind power, with houses controlled by smartphones.
Other participating schools included the Umm Suqeim Intermediate School, 2nd of December School, Jumeirah model school, Hissa Bin Almur, Al Salam school, The Indian Academy, Al Razi School, Maria Qibtiya School, Ebdaa Modern School, The Mohammed Bin Rashid School, Arab Unity School, Al Maaref Private School, and the students who are the children of DEWA employees.
During Innovation Week, DEWA also organised a ‘Build It Yourself Robotic Kits’ competition, which was open for students from 6 years to high-school. The robotic kits were equipped with sustainable innovative gadgets such as solar panels, sensors, chargeable batteries, and programmable microcontrollers.
DEWA’s Innovation Week comprised of 30 innovative activities and events, and witnessed the launch of 40 innovations for sustainable energy and water. These events included a Government Innovation Lab to explore initiatives on the rational use of energy. The Lab attracted employees, partners, innovators, and emerging companies.
DEWA has also organised a ‘Design Thinking Lab’ that comprises a series of workshops, spread over three days, to explore challenges faced by DEWA, and to discover innovative methods to overcome these challenges, using the ‘Better Today’ design thinking methods. DEWA will host an Innovation Conference, featuring international experts whose speeches focus on the roles that sustainability and renewable energy have played in some of the most important innovations worldwide. DEWA has also organised a Build-It-Yourself Robotics Kits competition for schoolchildren from the age of six, up to high-school age. The robotics kits are equipped with sustainable innovative gadgets, such as solar panels, sensors, chargeable batteries, and programmable microcontrollers.
The activities also include the launch of ‘My Innovation’ (Ibtikari in Arabic), to encourage innovators and designers from the UAE and abroad to offer innovations via a smart platform. This includes science and engineering competitions for university students and engineering specialists to identify scientific solutions and innovations in sustainability and water.

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