DOHA: A total of 447 scientific researches from 195 schools are featured at the sixth National Students Research Fair, one of the highlights of Education Forum 2014 which opened yesterday at the Qatar National Convention Centre (QNCC).
The number of researches has seen a huge leap from only 78 researches from 29 schools during its first edition in 2009.
The topics of scientific studies conducted by students were varied though many of them were related to the local environment such as “Cooling containers of water in summer using solar energy,” by Al Wakrah Secondary Independent School for Girls and Al Karana Dukhan and Al Karsaa schools’ “Replacing cleaning materials used in schools with natural materials that do not affect human health.”
H E Mohammed Abdul Wahed Ali Al Hammadi, Minister of Education and Higher Education and Secretary General of the Supreme Education Council (SEC) who opened the event lauded the three-day forum.
“This annual forum is the occasion to know students’ scientific innovations and their achievements and I am glad to see the positive competition among schools, teachers and students to achieve excellence,” the Minister said.
The subjects involved in the researches namely Science, Technology, Engineering and Maths are the backbone of knowledge economy and the future of today’s students and tomorrow’s leaders, he said, urging the participants to pay attention to these four aspects of knowledge in daily life and their role in comprehensive development.
Stressing the importance of good student preparation, he lauded the brilliant performance of Qatari students at the 2014 GCC Maths Olympiad in which they took home medals. He also expressed happiness for Qatari students who will be competing in the Intel International Science and Engineering Fair to be held in the US in May.
Under the theme “Innovative prospective and inspiration,” the forum which also includes student research expo, workshops, discussion sessions and honouring promising researches, is expected to witness 4,000 teachers, coordinators, directors, students and parents. Last year the forum saw 2286 participants.
The opening was also attended by H E Abdullah Saleh Mubarak Al Khulaifi, Minister of Labour and Social Affairs; senior officials from the SEC; education leaders, students and parents.
Fauzia Abdalaziz Al Khater, Director of the Education Institute at SEC said Education Forum 2014 is a venue to present educative means toward realization of sustainable development of the human being.
This, Al Khater said, could not be realized without identifying and applying best practices in education, encouraging personal and collective assessment on daily basis, improving exchange of experiences between teachers and developing positive attitudes towards education and enhancing national capacity by exploring and documenting best practices in education.
She also stressed the importance of improving the professional capacity of the teachers to advanced level, embodying scientific research culture and raising its significance in the society.
“We are aware of the importance of society’s role in improving the quality of education and in building the future of Qatar by strengthening the national identity and Arab Islamic culture,” she said.
She lauded the coordination between various departments in the SEC to support the schools and improve the Independent and private schools integrated under one education system.
After the opening ceremony the Minister of Education and other guests opened the expo and toured the stands which display the various student researches at the exhibition area.
The forum also included a number of workshops such as best practices in education, skills on scientific research, management and leadership in Independent schools, management and leadership in private schools, professional development and capacity building in Qatar, assessment and tools to improve quality education and experiences of consultative council of parents and students.
A lecture entitled “Electronic education is the door to your future” presented by SEC IT consultants Mohammed Alish and Dr Adel Bakr was also held yesterday.
The Peninsula
