UAE IT Challenge jury decides finalists

A record 487 projects from teachers, students and educational institutions within the UAE were received.

A larger group of 63 judges had previously ranked each project according to specific criteria. A panel of eight judging coordinators, chaired by Dr. Abdulla Al Karam, Director of Knowledge Village is comprised of industry and educational representatives then met to evaluate the projects and decide the finalists, who will be announced at a press conference on April 14th.

The coordinators at the meeting included Hamed Ali, e-learning Coordinator (Knowledge Village), Kidambi Vasudevan, Regional Manager (Samsung) and Krishna Kumar, IT Manager (Damas). Coordinators representing academia were Robert Brown (HCT), Frieda Wiebe, Manager LRS (HCT), Dr. Lauren Stephenson, Center Coordinator (Zayed University), Nafisa Ahmed Al Mulla, Head of Quality Assurance (MOEY), and Professor Shakil Akhtar (UAEU).

After careful review of the projects, 50 finalists were nominated for the project exhibition display at Jumeirah Beach Hotel on April 25th, where students and teachers from across the UAE will meet with the participants and view their projects. The winners are to receive their awards from His Excellency Sheikh Nahayan Mabarak Al Nahayan, Minister of Higher Education and patron of the IT Challenge at a special award ceremony to be held at Jumeirah Beach Conference Center in Dubai the same day.