Today, the judging of QSTEAM2020 competition launched by the Mathematics Department of the Department of Educational Guidance at the Ministry of Education and Higher Education has been performed at Qatar Scientific Club for the primary level, while the judging for the preparatory level begins tomorrow Monday and the results are expected to be announced at the end of this week.
This annual competition is intended to prompt learning of Science, Technology, Engineering, Mathematics and Arts which is known as (STEAM) in an interactive and a complementary way. Moreover, it aims at encouraging students to participate in the scientific research and scientific innovation and creativity through following an approach that connects Science, Technology, Engineering, Mathematics and Arts with a focus on spreading a culture based on active and interactive learning and creating an enabling learning environment for creativity and innovation.
51 primary schools and 46 preparatory schools participate in the competition, while 9 experts from both the Ministry of Education and Higher Education and Qatar Scientific Club perform the judging process. Furthermore, 5 shields and significant financial prizes will be awarded for the first five winning projects. The winners are also invited to participate in iSTEAMed camp for innovation organized by the Educational Development Institute – Qatar Foundation from 6-8 March 2020 in order to introduce their projects and experience to the other participants.
So in this regard, in addition to other partners, Qatar Scientific Club essentially supports this initiative by making its scientific laboratories available for the teams participating in the competition and dedicating engineers who provide them with technical advice.
Fatima Al-Muhannadi, the Managing Director of Qatar Science Club and responsible for the competition, declared that the competition is deemed in conformity with the Club’s vision representing in encouraging young people of both sexes to qualify them in the diverse scientific areas, boost their innovative spirit and give support for their projects, drawing attention to that the Club provided support and technical advice to the participating schools depending on ideas and projects which are consistent with the competition specific topic. As for the primary level, the topic is designing a turbine which is able to convert the wind movement into any form of energy, while the topic for the preparatory level is designing an appropriate advanced anti-bacterial hand handle that can be used in the Doha metro.
For his part, Mr. Hatem Al-Dhawi, Supervisor of Mathematics in the Direction of Education at the Ministry of Education and Higher Education and Executive Director of the QSTEAM2020 competition, stressed that the competition corresponds to the new curriculum developed by the Ministry of Education and Higher Education. In addition to that, it aims at guiding students on how to work on “STEAM” approach in an effective and interactive manner with a view to substantially promoting core competencies upon which the curriculum is based. He added: “In light of our observations on the first day where the judging is performed for the primary level, we note that all students are too eager to participate and interact in the competition, in addition to the presentation of extraordinary projects which is considered a positive sign”. He also expected that the projects presented by the preparatory students would be at the same level of those projects in terms of excellence and creativity.
Further, Al-Dhawi commended the level of cooperation between various entities towards achieving the competition success, such as Qatar Scientific Club which served as an incubator for these projects and provided the necessary technical support and advice, Qatar University’s Al-Bairaq team, and the Educational Training Institute at Qatar Foundation. In this regard, we cannot forget to extend our thanks and appreciation for all teachers who have played the most significant role in conducting this competition.