Etisalat University College concludes NMAC 2007

An awards ceremony was held to give the chance for participants to demonstrate their projects with winning teams being announced subsequently.

The ceremony was attended by Dr. Arif Al Hammadi, Manager of Etisalat University College; and officials from Etisalat, Nokia, and the Telecommunication Regulation Authority.

29 teams participated in the contest that was organized by Etisalat University College and sponsored by Etisalat, Nokia, and TRA. After going through the entries, 15 teams were chosen to enter the contest .The participants competed in developing new mobile phone solutions and applications that meet the various requirements of regional consumers.

Participating teams contributed with a number of innovative mobile applications that are relevant to the Arabic and Islamic Culture. Those applications highlighted the potential talents of the students and the capabilities of programming mobile phones in a way that meets the requirements of today's consumers.

During the ceremony each team presented its project in front of the judging committee comprising of experts from Etisalat, Nokia and TRA and faculty members from some UAE Universities. After the judging session, the winners were announced and honored.

Etisalat University College, has organized earlier, in collaboration with Nokia, a free training program for the participants of the NMAC 2007. The training was held at the Etisalat University College premises, Sharjah. The program included workshops on Java2 ME and Symbian, two leading technologies for developing mobile applications.

Dr. Arif Al Hammadi, Manager, Etisalat University College said: 'The aim of this contest is to discover and highlight the talent of the contestants. It also brings to the market compelling mobile phones applications to meet the demands of today's mobile customers, and this is one of our main initiatives as a national institute keen on playing a key role in developing the society. This contest reflects the great ability of participating teams to develop technology and create solutions and innovations that are consistent with the culture of the UAE.'

'Nokia has a strong commitment to the local community and we encourage young people to be creative and innovative in the field of technology. We aim at establishing and creating a bigger development community in the MEA region so that its innovations go beyond the geographical boundaries and contribute to the development of technology and mobile applications accross the world,' said Mohammed Essawi, Head of Technology Marketing and Business Development, Nokia Middle East and Africa.

The first winner was Etisalat University College team represented by Khaled Younes.His appllication was Mobile Remote Surveillance System. The second winner was American University of Sharjah represented by Sahar Sheideh, Nancy Salem, Omar L Omar.Their application was Mobile Stock-X. The team who came in third was also from Etisalat University College team represented by Essa Ibrahim.His application was Context -Aware framework for mobile learning.

NMAC 2007 has been a great opportunity for students and academics in all computing and telecommunication related disciplines in the UAE to consider the local and regional market needs in this field. It also reflects EUC's continuous commitment to build strategic partnerships and launch initiatives that would contribute to the development of the education and scientific research sectors in the UAE. This is in line with Etisalat's objective for the EUC to emerge as a leading academic institute offering technology training for students from the UAE in order to improve their skills and contribute to enriching the telecommunication sector in the country and the region.