Qatar University’s (QU) Young Scientists Center (YSC) achieves continued success, this time in the 8th International Invention Innovation Competition in Canada, iCAN 2023. The center sweeps seven awards including two gold awards, a silver award for projects submitted by the center’s students, another silver award for the center itself, in addition to three special awards. This win came after stiff competition with 621 other projects from 50 countries around the world, which is a huge feat.
The iCan 2023 competition, which is in its eighth cycle, is organized by the Toronto International Society for Innovation and Advanced Skills (TISIAS) in Canada. It aims to encourage inventors and researchers with creative abilities from around the world by providing a global platform for scientific competition, serving as a gateway for linking innovative ideas, technologies and solutions.
QU’s YSC is keen to encourage students to demonstrate their innovative ideas in national and international scientific conferences, to develop and disseminate knowledge, and highlight its importance in the field of scientific research while focusing on the sustainable development of the State of Qatar.
During the competition, students Khaled Al-Kubaisi, Khaled Al-Midfa, Saeed Al-Kuwari and Mohammed Al-Khulaifi, from Hayat Universal Bilingual School, won a gold medal for their project ‘Innovative Football to Analyze the Players Physical Performance.’ The high school students developed a football that evaluates player performance by utilizing artificial intelligence techniques, to be used in training evaluations. This project was made possible through the student’s participation in the Science in Sports program offered by the YSC.
Nouf Al-Emadi and Naeema Al-Fakhro from Al-Arqam Academy for Girls also won a gold medal and a special award, for a project titled ‘LiMn2O4-MXene as a new composite material to improve the performance of lithium batteries,’ under the supervision of Dr. Abdel Shakour and the YSC. Their project helps in developing sustainable energy systems.
Students Yousef Al-Enezi and Mohammed Al-Kuwari from Qatar Academy for Science and Technology won a silver award and a special award for a research project titled ‘Generating green energy from nanocomposites made of polylactic acid,’ under the supervision of Dr. Diba and the YSC. The project aims to use a new, environmentally friendly source of energy by reducing the emission of toxic gases that contribute to the phenomenon of global warming.
The YSC also won a silver medal and a special award for its adoption of developed methods and principles for teaching scientific research methodologies, in a project titled ‘An ingenious approach for teachers professional development based on innovative research-based practices towards promoting the scientific research culture in education.’
Prof. Noora Al-Thani, Director of the YSC, congratulated the winners and said, “At the Center, we are keen to provide a stimulating environment for creativity and innovation. We also encourage our students to develop, search, and disseminate their ideas and experiences at all levels, since it has a major role in developing the knowledge-based economy of Qatar as well as achieving Qatar National Vision 2030.”