Master Foods and Zayed University honour outstanding students with the 2007 Academic Award for Excellence

The teams of Aisha Al Hamiz, Asma Zaid, Mariam Khaja, and Alyazi Ahmed from Zayed University Abu Dhabi, and Ayda Abdelrahim, Murjan Mohamed, and Latifa Abdulla Khalifa from Zayed University Dubai shared the winning position for their outstanding creation of a health conscious snack food and a diabetes conscious snack food for school children.

"The projects presented by the Zayed University students far surpassed our expectations," said Gehane Abichaker from the Research and Development Department at Master Foods Middle East.

"Not only did the students demonstrate a thorough knowledge of the nutrition sciences but also showed a clear application of creativity in their work."

Due to the outstanding calibre of the submitted projects, this year's award was shared between two winning teams.

"Master Foods' initiative to create an Academic Award for Excellence provides much encouragement to the Health Science students at Zayed University," said Dr. Chris Nuttman Health Science Department of Zayed University. "Having a large multinational company in the field recognize their efforts helps students strive for greater excellence and gives them valuable insight into the industry of food and food production."

Initiated and developed by Master Foods, an international leader in the production of snack food, pet care and main meal food, the 2007 Academic Award for Excellence recognizes innovation and excellence in nutrition sciences. Students were challenged to develop an original health conscious food product that is currently unavailable in the UAE market. The products were based upon the findings of their research and application of the taught university courses.

Christine Greaves, Corporate Affairs Manager at Master Foods Middle East added: "This initiative is part of Master Foods' ongoing commitment to the local community. Master Foods has long been supporting academic institutions in the nation as education is the key to a country's sustainable development. We are also delighted that we have received an overwhelming response from the students and are looking forward to welcoming local talents into the organization in the near future."

The Academic Award for Excellence is not the only cooperation between Master Foods and the educational sector in the UAE. The company has also come together with the Department of Sports and Health Programmes at the Ministry of Education for the Haraka Baraka (movement is blessing) programme that promotes physical activity in over 30 schools across the UAE.