Date: Saturday, June 13, 2009
Venue: Scitech, Al-Khobar, Saudi Arabia
The IEEE Education Society, Saudi/Gulf Chapter organized the second annual commemorative event to felicitate the participants of the Business Ideas Challenge Contest on June 13, 2009. The event also included an important presentation titled ‘Computing, Visualization, & Research Connectivity at King Abdullah University of Science & Technology (KAUST)’, which was delivered by Mr. Majid F. Al-Ghaslan, CIO at KAUST , who is responsible for the development, support and operation of innovative technology solutions and services that advance learning and discovery at KAUST.
The Ideas Challenge contest was held jointly by the IEEE Education Society Saudi/Gulf Chapter and the IEEE Students Chapter at KFUPM. The Dhahran Techno-Valley, at King Fahd University of Petroleum & Minerals (KFUPM), was the main sponsor. Dhahran Techno-Valley is envisioned to be the Middle East's most prestigious research and technology development nucleus with comprehensive business support.
Dr. Bakr Hassan, Vice President of Ahlia University in Bahrain and Chairman, IEEE Education Society, Saudi/Gulf Chapter in his introductory speech gave an overview of the activities of IEEE Saudi Arabia Section and the IEEE Education Society Saudi Chapter. He highlighted the fact that the IEEE Education Society Saudi Chapter, which was established in late 2004, was awarded the Best Chapter Award 2008 and the Best Leadership Award 2008 worldwide. Previously, in the year 2006, the chapter was awarded best small and medium Chapter Award for the IEEE Region 8 which includes Europe, Africa and the Middle East. The Saudi Arabia EdSoc Chapter was expanded last year to include Kuwait, Bahrain, Western Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Oman, and the United Arab Emirates and renamed as Gulf Education Society Chapter.
A major part of this special event was the presentation on KAUST advanced computing facilities Mr. Majid F. Al-Ghaslan, the CIO at KAUST. The presentation included the planned and current status of IT infrastructure facilities at KAUST. The High Performance Computing platform Shaheen, was presented as the most advanced academic platform for scientific/engineering computations. In addition to this, information related to 'Cornea' which will be the world's most advanced visualization lab, was explained. KAUST, a new graduate-level research university, will serve as the hub of the Saudi Arabian Advanced Research and Education Network (SAREN).
The Business Ideas Challenge Contest details were presented by the Contest Coordinator Dr. Tareq Al-Naffouri, an Electrical Engineering Faculty member at KFUPM. He explained that the main objective of the contest, designed for university students, was to enhance the entrepreneurship spirit amongst students by encouraging them to perform a preliminary market analysis and come up with ideas that have business potential. A total of 22 student teams participated in the contest. A panel of distinguished judges evaluated all entries and finalized 6 winning entries. All the 6 best teams received cash prizes along with commemorative plaques.
Dr. Faleh Al-Sulaiman, Vice Rector for Technology Development and Industrial Relations at KFUPM, outlined the activities of Dhahran Techno-Valley and the Scitech where the event was held. He stressed that the main target of “Scitech” is to educate the community, specifically the young visitors, and expose them to the basics & applications of science. The simple way these scientific exhibits are explained and demonstrated, using interactive means, makes the visit to “Scitech” an educational and fun experience.
At the end of the event, plaques were distributed to Mr. Majid F. Al-Ghaslan, Dr. Faleh Al-Sulaiman and the best four student teams in the Ideas Challenge Contest.
|
