Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid gave a royal welcome to an intrepid team of Syrian teen refugees who struck gold in the robotic Olympics in Dubai.
The Vice President and Ruler of Dubai hosted the inspiring young members of Team Hope, winners of the First Global Challenge, at Zabeel Palace on Tuesday.
A number of other UAE dignitaries also attended the gathering, including Omar Al Olama, the UAE's Minister of State for Artificial Intelligence.
The three-day cyber competition was held in the emirate last month and involved more than 1,500 pupils from 191 schools.
Maher El Assawi, Ammar Kabbour, Salam Al Farekh, Youssef Shaaban, Amina Kabbour and supervisor Yamen Alnajjar – led the winning four-team alliance in the grand final after being tasked with building robots able to help clean up pollution in the world’s oceans.
They brought along their prize-winning design for their memorable palatial appointment.
The opening ceremony of the event was attended by Sheikh Hamdan bin Mohammed, Crown Prince of Dubai, and featured a performance by American musician Will.i.am.
This theme of the competition was "Ocean Opportunities", focusing on creating robots to clean up the oceans through eliminating waste and pollutants.
THE BIO
Favourite author - Paulo Coelho
Favourite holiday destination - Cuba
New York Times or Jordan Times? NYT is a school and JT was my practice field
Role model - My Grandfather
Dream interviewee - Che Guevara
Our legal consultants
Name: Hassan Mohsen Elhais
Position: legal consultant with Al Rowaad Advocates and Legal Consultants.
WHEN TO GO:
September to November or March to May; this is when visitors are most likely to see what they’ve come for.
WHERE TO STAY:
Meghauli Serai, A Taj Safari - Chitwan National Park resort (tajhotels.com) is a one-hour drive from Bharatpur Airport with stays costing from Dh1,396 per night, including taxes and breakfast. Return airport transfers cost from Dh661.
HOW TO GET THERE:
Etihad Airways regularly flies from Abu Dhabi to Kathmandu from around Dh1,500 per person return, including taxes. Buddha Air (buddhaair.com) and Yeti Airlines (yetiairlines.com) fly from Kathmandu to Bharatpur several times a day from about Dh660 return and the flight takes just 20 minutes. Driving is possible but the roads are hilly which means it will take you five or six hours to travel 148 kilometres.
The specs: 2019 Infiniti QX50
Price, base: Dh138,000 (estimate)
Engine: 2.0L, turbocharged, in-line four-cylinder
Transmission: Continuously variable transmission
Power: 268hp @ 5,600rpm
Torque: 380Nm @ 4,400rpm
Fuel economy: 6.7L / 100km (estimate)
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
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Profile
Company: Libra Project
Based: Masdar City, ADGM, London and Delaware
Launch year: 2017
Size: A team of 12 with six employed full-time
Sector: Renewable energy
Funding: $500,000 in Series A funding from family and friends in 2018. A Series B round looking to raise $1.5m is now live.
