The success of last year’s Abu Dhabi Science Festival encouraged around 800 students from the Emirate’s universities, 60% more than 2011, to participate as Science Communicators for this year’s edition. Taking full advantage of the training by world class experts, the university students will deliver this celebration of science to our children and expertly explaining the fun behind the exciting activities of the Festival which takes place from October 10-20 at the Abu Dhabi Exhibition Centre (ADNEC) and the Corniche (West Plaza) as well as bespoke locations at Al Ain and Al Gharbia.

The Abu Dhabi Science Festival 2012, organized by the Abu Dhabi technology Development Committee (TDC), is a strategic initiative dedicated to the engagement and inspiration of the nation’s children with science related hands-on activities as part of a wider plan geared towards building Abu Dhabi’s talent base in Science, Technology and Innovation (STI).

By experiencing the Festival’s amazing interactive and hands-on activities, our students’ scientific curiosity is stimulated, ultimately inspiring them to pursue scientific education and invigorating careers in medicine, engineering and other STI fields. Working in close partnership with eight universities in the Emirate, the Festival this year recruits and trains 800 of our finest students whose bright and out-going personalities will deliver the larger and longer festival. These universities include The Abu Dhabi University (ADU), AlHosn University (AU), Emirates College for Advanced Education (ECAE), Higher Colleges of Technology (HCT), Khalifa University (KU), The Petroleum Institute (PI), United Arab Emirates University (UAEU), and Zayed University (ZU).

H.E. Ahmed Saeed Al Calily, Director General of TDC praised the contribution of the Festival’s partner universities and stressed its importance in helping the Festival deepen its community engagement through the university-age youth who act as role models for our children and science ambassadors in the society at large. Al Calily commended the efforts of the young men and women who helped make the 2011 Science Festival a phenomenal success and looked forward to them excelling in this year’s edition.

The Science Communicator role is integral to the success of the Festival and talented students are enlisted from all disciplines of study, not only science majors. They deliver the workshops, facilitate interactive exhibitions and perform science demonstrations engaging all of the Festival’s audience. As part of the Science Communicator training, internationally benchmarked experts in communication and science teach leadership, teamwork and the art of communicating in all environments; critical skills that will help students with their career development in the future.

After the triumph of the Science Communicator program at last year’s Science Festival, the universities of Abu Dhabi were unilateral in their praise of the experience for their students. The opportunity affords the young men and women fantastic exposure to skills, including communication and team work, which are beneficial to both their education and also their future careers. This year’s students are eagerly anticipating their involvement in delivering another success for science!

As part of the Abu Dhabi Science Festival commitment to the Science Communicators, an Alumni Program was launched this month at the Park Rotana Abu Dhabi giving all the students who worked on the Abu Dhabi Science Festival 2011 a platform to meet again and expand on last year’s success. The event was an opportunity to strengthen the connection with the Festival and other upcoming science popularization initiatives that TDC is working on. The Alumni Program is open to all students who participate and is specifically aimed to enrich their educational and professional experience.

Fatmah Alhmoudi, an alumnus at ADU, is returning as a Science Communicator for the second year, after being initially attracted by her inherent curiosity and is immensely proud of her achievement. "I am truly excited and honoured to be back as a Science Communicator for this year’s Science Festival. The skills I acquired last year in communication and public speaking were so helpful. The experience built my self-confidence and has definitely helped me to work better with teams. The benefits have proven to be key to my personal development and future career".

Talking of her ambitions for the future Alhmoudi said "Participating in the Science Communicator Program as a Team Leader this year will provide me with a new experience and bigger responsibility. I am excited to be part of it again and learn more as I have indeed seen the results first hand after my 2011 participation".

Adding to this, Abdulla Ibrahim Al Hamadi (UAEU) said: "I have tremendously enjoyed my involvement last year and can’t wait for the festival to open again! I learned a lot from the training and truly saw the difference in my courses while presenting, communicating and working within groups. Moreover, the skills I gained helped me personally in my life while interacting with others".

Abu Dhabi Science Festival is about instilling passion in our children for science and inspiring them to pursue education and careers in Science, Technology and Innovation fields. It takes place on October 10-20 at the Abu Dhabi National Exhibition Centre (ADNEC), the Corniche (West Plaza), in addition to bespoke locations at Al Ain and Al Gharbia. Visitors can pre-plan their visit and book favourite activities through the Festival’s website www.abudhabisciencefestival.ae < http://www.abudhabisciencefestival.ae>.

The Abu Dhabi Science Festival is organized by TDC in partnership with the Abu Dhabi Education Council as Education Partner, Edinburgh International Science Festival as Programming Partner, Tawazun as Presenting Sponsor, Dolphin Energy as Main Sponsor; in affiliation with ADNOC, Etihad Airways, Total and Masdar; and produced by Flash Entertainment.

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