The Telecommunications and Digital Government Regulatory Authority (TDRA) celebrated the graduation of students in the second session of the Winter Innovation Camp, organized by TDRA from 19-23 December, with the participation of 1472 students of different nationalities, who submitted more than a thousand technical projects. The proportion of new students stood at 67%, confirming the success of the virtual camp in reaching out to new segments of society and opening the door for all to participate.

The winter camp seeks to prepare the nation’s youth and invest their mid-year break in mastering how to deal with robotics and artificial intelligence, with a primary focus on ICT.

TDRA pointed out that this year’s edition of the winter camp included two training tracks, the first being the general virtual laboratory, in which students avail themselves of recorded clips and live broadcasts to perform daily tasks using a computer program that simulates electronic circuits and tools in order to build various technical projects. As for the second track, it was the advanced virtual laboratory, where each student submitted their own technical project idea and worked on implementing, programming and presenting the project with the help of the technical support team and available learning materials, and by using a computer program that simulates electronic circuits and tools to realize the project idea.

In his speech at the beginning of the ceremony, His Excellency Eng. Mohammed Al Zarooni, TDRA’s Deputy Director General for the Digital Government Sector, said: “I congratulate you on the graduation of a new batch from TDRA’s virtual camp, this event that we regularly convene with the aim of bringing up generations capable of creating their own future and that of their communities. I can only express my deepest gratitude to everyone who contributed to the success of this session. I further thank our students and their generous families for their cooperation and efforts that made this session another success story added to our record in supporting youth and fostering a culture of creativity and innovation.”

His Excellency added: “This camp was founded in order to bring about a generation that is open to science and knowledge, a generation that uses reason as a key to solving problems, science as a way forward, and technology as a tool to tackle challenges; a generation that opens its arms and heart to the world, and stops at nothing to reach the scientific and knowledge truth. A generation grounded on a solid foundation of knowledge while eagerly and passionately looking forward to the future. This camp aims to create a younger generation who think outside the box, and unleash their ideas to fly in unexplored spaces, in order to develop innovative solutions to the challenges of reality.”

The graduation ceremony honored best student projects, where in the advanced track, Ali Humaid Al Ali and Fatima al-Zubaidi won the gold category; Zayed al-Zarouni and Abdul Malik al-Awadhi won the silver category; and Hala Saeed and Amna Salem won the bronze category. In the general track, TDRA honored the most outstanding student projects, namely, Shahd Hussein al-Yasi, Alya al-Sayed al-Shahat Abdel-Halim, Alwaleed Khaled Mohideen Hassan Adar. TDRA also honored the students who excelled in their assigned daily tasks, namely, Salem Hamad al-Kaabi, Safi al-Din Awadh, Hamdan Ibrahim al-Alawi, Maryam Muhammad, Salama Matar al-Nuaimi, Rawda Hassan al-Shamsi, Louay Ahmed Radhi, Aldhabi al-Muhairi, Humaid Saif al-Kaabi, Mohammad Tariq, Mohammad Nazih, Lamar Mohammad Adel, Adnan Ibrahim, Maryam Nazih Mohammad, and Masood Hamad.

During the winter camp, students were trained to implement projects that serve the Sustainable Development Goals and smart cities. Students also presented Expo 2020-inspired projects, such as the Visitor Counter Project, a device that counts the number of Expo visitors; the Displays Project, which aims to introduce students on how to operate and use NeoPixel light strips that are used in public displays, where students programed the required electronic chips under a virtual environment. Moreover, students worked on the Solar Tracker Project, using the servo motor to move the solar panels perpendicular to the sun and produce the largest amount of electricity to secure clean energy for Expo 2020. The list further includes the Smart Bin Project, Smart Parking Project, and other smart projects in the advanced track.