Intel selects first phase of local Intel ISEF competitions with 400 candidates participating

The fairs, which started on Monday, February 26, 2007 and lasted for three separate days, covered the north, middle and south regions of the Jordanian Kingdom in three fairs that witnessed the participation of 400 candidates that were selected to demonstrate their projects in front of a specialized arbitration committee out of thousands of applicants.

The MOE had declared January 30, 2007 the last date to send the applications to the schools' directorates located around the Kingdom. At that time, a specialized committee in each directorate forwarded the quality applications to the MOE who further evaluated the applications through a specialized arbitration committee formed by the Ministry itself. This step led to the selection of the 400 students who received training and orientation to participate effectively in the local fairs.

Now, the qualified students out of this phase will later participate in one affiliated fair in mid of March for all regions after which the most qualified students will be nominated to participate in the final fair which will be held in Albuquerque city in New Mexico, USA in May 2007.

'We support these scientific fairs that highlight our students' talents and motivate them to show their creativity. Since it was first introduced, Intel ISEF gained the wide acclamation of teachers, students and parents who consistently expressed how they benefited from this program and how it developed talents, making them more determined to achieving their goals,' MoE's spokesperson Mr. Mohammad Al-Zoubi said.

According to the Ministry, the projects were evaluated inline with Intel ISEF's international criteria by an arbitration committee that included a number of university professors selected from different Jordanian universities holding academic degrees relevant to the prize's different categories.

'We feel proud to be associated with this initiative which has given fruitful results. The huge number of students who have rushed to take part is certainly a good indication of the success of this initiative, making us more delighted to back Intel ISEF for the second consecutive year. MobileCom truly aims at developing and enhancing the youths' capabilities while urging them to invest their efforts to improve their future,' MobileCom's CEO Majd Shweikeh said.

'This fair successfully highlighted Jordanian promising youth. It also helped prepare a cadre of competent teachers to teach students the principles of this competition and motivate them towards winning and achieving. Intel ISEF is continuously accomplishing its goals by motivating and encouraging scientific research,' Intel Education Manager for Jordan and Lebanon Rula Habash said.

'We thank the Ministry of Education and MobileCom for their continuous support for this initiative as they played an essential role in expanding the participation level among students,' she also added.

The south fair took place at Sumayah Bent Khayat Secondary School in Petra city while the north fair took place at the Teachers' Club in Irbid and the middle one at the Teachers' Club in Amman.

The Intel ISEF comes as part of Intel's Digital Transformation Initiative in the Middle East and highlights Intel's commitment to enhancing education in the region. The Intel Education Initiative is a sustained commitment to prepare all students with the skills required to thrive in the knowledge economy. Through collaboration with educators and governments in more than 50 countries, Intel works to improve teaching and learning through the effective use of technology, and to advance mathematics, science, and engineering education and research.

Intel's education programs are adapted to the needs of individual countries and utilize an approach focused on building local competency for teacher training and technology innovation.