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The Guest of Honour, Mr. Adel Al Shirawi, Vice Chairman, Istithmar World, the international investment arm of Dubai World, was greeted by hundreds of students who had assembled for the opening ceremony, both as participants and visitors to the DI@TECH 2008 Fair.
In her welcome address, Poonam Bhojani, Executive Director, DIA, said:
DI@TECH is a celebration of technology at DIA. Technology is a key differentiator at DIA, as we recognize that technology is a vital tool that should be used as a part of the learning process. As an IB World school, DIA is committed to providing students a learning environment that is best suited to prepare them on their way to becoming tomorrow's citizens of the global knowledge economy, where mastery of computers is as essential as reading, writing and arithmetic.
Speaking at the occasion, Mr. Adel Al Shirawi, who has a strong technology background, said: "Technology helps you to think systematically, in the right order. In today's technology-driven environment, it is important that you learn technology, and apply those skills to your future career. You should never give up learning, as age is no barrier to acquiring knowledge. You should also strive to achieve the best at all times. I see a bright future for many of you, as Dubai International Academy has given you the opportunity to learn technology that can help you get into a great career".
The one-day event, provided parents and students the opportunity to understand how technology can change the lives of their children, as well as societies.
The Technology Fair is a way for the school to further enhance the inter-disciplinary nature of its curriculum, and is part of the school's aim to build lifelong learners for the global knowledge economy.
In addition to showcasing their creative talents and innovative spirit through technological gadgets and games, the students were involved in various other activities including an inter-school panel discussion and an inter-school animation competition, in which teams from Emirates International School, Meadows and Emirates International School, Jumeirah too participated.
Representatives of technology giants provided students and visitors to the exhibition an overview of the technological advances worldwide including a presentation titled "The Genius Inside" by Intel, a session on "Latest Gadgets" by HP and a presentation on "Innovation and Safety" by Microsoft.
In addition, leading vendors of world class technology brands such as HP and Jumbo, provided special offers and value-for-money deals on IT products including laptops, desktops, printers, USB drives, and much more.
One of the highlights at the event was in the area of robotics where four students, Sango from Korea, Sam Rohrer and Erika Zimmermann from the United States, and Corentin Feys from Belgium put their talents together to come up with an Automated Traffic System of the future that would help cars quickly find out empty parking bays in large parking lots.
Abhinav Menon, a Year 7 student of DIA, was busy demonstrating a software that is designed to assist architects and interior designers: "This is my first year at this technology fair, and it has already become a great experience for me.
The amount of research I have done on 3-D modeling has helped me getter a better understanding of how technology can be used to increase your knowledge".
One of the parents visiting the exhibition, Mia Wetterlim, from Sweden, said that DI@TECH 2008 was a joyous occasion for her because her two children, Tim and Felicia were among the participants.
"I am happy to see DIA being so dedicated to such activities, as this is an assurance that my children will continue to get much more than classroom education".
The DI@TECH fair, which was sponsored by Intel, HP, Emirates NBD & Microsoft concluded with a raffle and prize awards ceremony. Proceeds from the raffle will be donated to charity.
Posted by Eman Hassan
