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Abu Dhabi Education Council, Abu Dhabi Systems and Information Centre and Microsoft Gulf have announced the winners of “Imagine Us”, the pioneering technology competition held for secondary schools to encourage students to express themselves through technology and find solutions for problems that face their society. The competition was held for the second year in a row in partnership with technology partners, Fujitsu and AMD.
Three top teams under each category have had their projects recognized by the judging panel:
In the Digital Video Category there were top three winning teams. First place: the World Changers from the Al Ma’ali School (Al Ain); second place: Malattia Addio Team from the Aishah Bint Abi Baker School (Abu Dhabi) and third place: the Eco Friendly Team from the same school Aishah Bint Abi Baker School (Abu Dhabi).
In the Website Design Category there were the following top three winning teams. First place: Netstar Team from the Abdul Qader Al Jazaeri School (Abu Dhabi); second place: Dalma Team from the Al Farazdaq School (Abu Dhabi) and third place: the 4 Friends Team from the Al Siddique School (Abu Dhabi).
The top three winning teams in the Graphic Design Category were as follows. First place: The UAE Team from the Hunain Secondary School (Abu Dhabi); second place: the Pure Life Team from the Mu’tah School (Al Gharbiah region) and third place: the Talented Team from the Hunain Secondary School (Abu Dhabi).
His Excellency, Dr. Mugheer Al Khaili, ADEC’s Director General said: “Education is a key enabler to help Abu Dhabi in its efforts to become a successful knowledge-based society. As part of the Abu Dhabi 2030 vision, we continue to invest heavily in raising the standard of education in the country to empower nationals and residents. ADEC has four priorities in the field of basic education: graduating students with global standards; providing every student living in Abu Dhabi with an opportunity to learn; setting up a private education sector committed to meeting standards set by the council for reasonable fees; and promoting the national identity in the educational environment.
"We strive to prepare a new generation of future leaders by improving their skills in problem solving, creative thinking, scientific research, teamwork and getting away from the conventional method of education which focuses on the book as the only source of knowledge. We are pleased to partner with Microsoft Gulf to take positive steps towards utilizing technology for social development. Imagine Us Competition offers high school students a variety of opportunities to develop a wide array of skills and potentials which they can use to design web sites, digital films and graphics. We look forward to the creativity of our children to find solutions that will address the challenges surrounding us in the world today.”
H.E Rashid Lahej Al Mansouri, Director General of Abu Dhabi Systems and Information Center (ADSIC) commented: “Tthe second edition of ‘Imagine Us’ School Competition comes as a result of the joint and constant partnership with Abu Dhabi Education Council, Microsoft Gulf and the IT partners ‘Fujitsu’ and ‘AMD’ - a partnership which constitutes a part of the long-term strategy of ADSIC aiming at executing the e-transformation programme, providing governments with more efficient and effective services and elevating the e-knowledge level. Through initiatives like these, we strive to bridge the digital gap and improve ICT capabilities, their access methods and the skills required to benefit from them. We also work on creating new and convenient initiatives for all the segments of society.”
His Excellency also added: “On the 14th of March, 2010, we celebrated the launch of the first edition of “Imagine Us” School Competition. And here we are today, celebrating the closing ceremony of the second edition. In that relatively short period, many things have been achieved. What I have witnessed and seen at the competition stands as great evidence on the ability of high school students to show their inherent skills, ideas and creative thoughts. These will be interpreted into a reality where solutions can be found to solve many problems, communications can be facilitated and ideas can be shared with counterparts and society members in various domains through the use of special programmes especially designed for design and photography. We promise our students that we will keep on creating new and convenient initiatives to all the segments of society for a knowledge-based economy, increasing the involvement in IT and making communications a life style through which they can face future challenges. I congratulate all those who participated in the competition, since they won the ability to innovate and create, raising their e-awareness.”
Samer Abu-Ltaif, Regional General Manager of Microsoft Gulf added: “Microsoft’s Imagine Us is all about igniting the imagination of tomorrow’s technology visionaries and leaders. When coupled with the power of technology the potential of young people is unlimited and the ideas they develop for the event could significantly improve the lives of millions of people around the world. The launch of this competition reflects Microsoft’s long-term commitment to collaborating with academic institutions to contribute to socio-economic development and we commend the Abu Dhabi government’s ambitious vision of using technology to advance the cause of education and enhance IT skills development that will enable citizens to compete in today’s global economy.”
Farid Al-Sabbagh, Managing Director of Middle East, Fujitsu Technology Solutions commented: “Fujitsu has a long standing relationship with educational institutions across the Middle East, working with schools and universities across the region to provide students with the latest IT tools to help them reach their goals. Partnering with Microsoft on the ‘Imagine Us Competition’ gives students the opportunity to put in practice their passion for technology, and is a step in Fujitsu’s vision of a human-centric society.’’
Bernard Biolchini, VP and General Manager of AMD Middle East, Turkey and Africa said: “Educational institutions and students around the world rely on AMD to provide the technology they need to meet their needs, from world-class supercomputers and powerful workstations for advanced research, to cost-effective servers, desktops and notebooks. As an innovation leader and a technology partner to Microsoft, we are pleased to support the Imagine Us competition in the United Arab Emirate, by encouraging young high school students to apply their imagination, passion, and creativity to technology innovations that can make a difference in the world.”
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