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Teamwork and creativity skills of Emirati school leavers and job seekers at the Al Ain Education & Career Fair are being put to the test this week, as they look to shatter the record for the highest free standing tower made from just marshmallow and spaghetti.
Armed with one marshmallow, 20 sticks of spaghetti, one yard of tape and one yard of string, groups of between four to ten Emirati youngsters have only 18 minutes to build the tallest free-standing structure, and beat the current record of 99 centimetres placing the marshmallow on top.
Called the Marshmallow Challenge, the exercise is being introduced by the student-run youth leadership development organisation AIESEC UAE at the three day fair, which opened on Monday and concludes today (Wednesday 2 May) at the Al Khabisi Wedding Celebration Hall.
First presented at a TED conference in 2010, the Marshmallow Challenge was subsequently popularised by engineering and design expert Tom Wujec, and has now become one of the most popular cognitive group exercises aimed at challenging assumptions while improving innovation and creativity.
And while the record for the almost one metre tower still stands, Yana Makaveeva, President of AIESEC UAE believes that the Marshmallow Challenge at the Al Ain Education & Career Fair is a unique way for participants to discover new ways to successfully innovate in an individual and teamwork environment.
“The Marshmallow Challenge is a fun and interactive design exercise that encourages teams to experience simple but profound lessons in teamwork, innovation, and creativity,” said Makaveeva.
“We decided to run it as part of our assessment programme at the Al Ain Education & Career Fair so that we can propose something fun and entertaining at first glance, but with a deeper meaning behind. The exercise reveals the true nature of collaboration and fighting assumptions and we hope that we can topple the 99 centimetre record during the event.”
Supported by the Emirates National Development Programme, and strategically located in Al Ain due to its large population of Emirati school leavers and university graduates, Al Ain Education & Career Fair focuses on career, training and education opportunities in the UAE for young Emiratis contemplating their future educational aspirations and career direction.
Providing a dual platform for education providers and employers in the UAE, the exhibition is Al Ain’s annual showcase event for universities and training institutes seeking students, and for leading employers searching for talented UAE Nationals in an effort to support their Emiratisation initiatives.
The UAE Presidential Guard – Diamond Sponsor of the event – and Gold Sponsors Etihad Airways, Etihad Rail, ADNOC, and Etisalat, all have a number of positions available for UAE Nationals as they look to keep their Emiratisation targets for the remainder of 2012 well in their sights.
Other major employers signed up include the Abu Dhabi Food Control Authority (ADFCA), Mubadala Aerospace, Abu Dhabi Investment Authority, Abu Dhabi Farmers Services Centre, and General Holding Corporation, the UAE’s largest industrial conglomerate, whose companies include Emirates Steel, Arkan, Agthia and the National Petroleum Construction Company.
The Al Ain Education & Career Fair returns from 22-24 April, 2013 at the Al Khabisi Wedding Celebration Hall, and is partnered with NAJAH Education, Training and Careers event, taking place at Abu Dhabi National Exhibition Centre from 16-18 October 2012. For more information, visit www.alaincareerfair.com or www.facebook.com/alaincareerfair.
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