Three Emirati teams have travelled to the Philippines to compete against 126 other groups to find out who can build the most fuel-efficient car.
One of the most amazing stories that I heard from the Shell Eco Marathon comes from a team from Saudi Arabia.
In fact, Team Alfaisal demonstrated one of the most important elements to being innovative. They demonstrated teamwork.
The team from Alfaisal University faced enormous challenges from the start. Their car was delayed which took away an entire day of preparation. This also forced them to be behind on passing their technical inspection to hit the track.
They could have immediately given up as other competing teams were well on their way to victory, but they didn’t. Instead, they kept doing as much as they could in preparing their materials that were onsite to instantly begin working on the car once it had arrived.
But the most amazing part was that the team began helping its neighbours with parts and materials. A nearby Filipino team suffered a big blow when their engine blew up, but Team Alfaisal immediately came to the rescue and offered their spare engine.
“It’s not all about the competition, but about the shared knowledge as well,” said Abdulmoshin Albabtain, Team Alfaisal’s driver and team leader. He recalled how other teams came to immediately help them after their numerous challenges and his team wanted to return the favour. “It was all for one and one for all.”
Team Alfaisal was awarded the off-track award, Perseverance and Spirit of the Event, embodying the ideals that competition represented. “The team has demonstrated that the event is not about winning, but about reaching a common goal: driving innovation to achieve sustainable mobility,” said the company.
Teamwork is vital to the successful implementation of innovation. “Talent wins games, but teamwork wins championships,” US professional basketball player Michael Jordan. I hope Team Alfaisal’s example continues.
lgraves@thenational.ae
Follow The National's Business section on Twitter
