29-10-2019

Oman Observer

MUSCAT: The Oman Science Festival will kick off on November 4, Monday. Saud bin Salim al Balushi, Under-Secretary of the Ministry of Education for Planning and Human Resources Development, said this at a press conference held at the Ministry of Education on Monday.

He said the Oman Science Festival seeks to include the use of technology in various fields of life. It comes also in a wider area in terms of space, and more participation of military institutions and international institutions to include students, innovators, scientists and intellectuals from within and outside the Sultanate.

The first edition of the festival came as a national umbrella for all works related to technology. The festival will take place at the International Convention and Exhibition Centre, with the participation of 60 government, military and private sector institutions.

Al Balushi thanked the attendees representing media institutions and the supporting institutions towards their partnership and support for education and science.

Dr Maia al Azri, Chairperson of the Scientific Committee of Oman Science Festival, gave a detailed video presentation on the various activities and events of the Oman Science Festival this year.

The press conference also included a presentation of the festival’s promotional film.

The festival holds 300 events and more than 1,200 participants, in addition to leading programming and robot competitions, hackathons, drone competitions, scientific presentations at the festival stage, as well as scientific cinema.

There is also extensive participation from international organisations, such as the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) and the European Organization for Nuclear Research (CERN), the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) and the Rolls Royce Foundation.

Oman Science Festival 2019 will host international speakers to talk about science in various areas: STEM, support and promotion of science and innovation, the outlook of energy sector, robot, and artificial intelligence and future functions.

There will be discussion sessions accompanying the festival on November 5-6, distributed over two sessions a day.