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27-06-2018

Oman Observer

MUSCAT, Innovation Factory (IF) recently concluded its skills development programme ‘The Core’ and ‘The Exploration’ that targeted young Omani inventors. The closing ceremony was held under the auspices of Dr Salim Sultan al Ruzaiqi, the Chief Executive Officer of Information Technology Authority (ITA) and was attended by a number of executive officials from the public and private sector. Supported by BP Oman’s Social Investment Programme, the IF team inspired over 600 Omani youngsters through introducing them into topics of the future in fields of science, engineering and IT in a fun and exciting way.

“The programmes devised by Innovation Factory fall under the education theme of BP Oman’s Social Investment Programme. Capitalising on science and technology through practical training proves to be an efficient method of teaching as it builds on a trainee’s natural curiosity. We believe that the two initiatives have motivated the young participants to be leading inventors. It has encouraged the youth to consider science of the future and contribute to the welfare of the Omani society by developing innovative solutions for problems,” said Shamsa al Rawahi, BP Oman’s Social Investment Progarmme Officer.

The programme commenced with a welcome speech given by Firas al Musafer, Chief Executive Officer of Innovation Factory, which also included a brief about the programme and its achievements. This was preceded by the deliverance of presentations by each group that participated in the programme. Later in the evening, certificates of participation were distributed.

“We believe that imparting technological literacy, critical thinking and problem-solving through science education equips students with skills and knowledge they need to be successful inventors and scientific entrepreneurs,” said Qais al Ma’ashari, Lead — Operations at IF. “The initiatives we delivered, creates a platform for our participants to boost their understanding of innovative concepts, as they will be able to fully utilise the futuristic educational methods we provide,” he added.

The Exploration targeted Omanis aged 18-35 years. It was an open Research and Development (R&D) concept based programme that involved 28 participants. The knowledge participants gained, results obtained and findings will be public for anyone to further develop and build on. Four teams of Omani inventors worked on Soft Robotics, Projection Mapping, Aerophonic Gardening and Wave Power. This initiative aims at promoting technologies of the future, concept of group work, structured scientific methods of work, solidifying the role of science and technology as a problem solver and creating science and technology oriented role models.

‘The Core’ kicked off in January, with over 580 participants. Targeting students of ages 9-15, IF delivered 28 workshops, out of which 20 were open to public and eight were delivered to schools.

The programme had four main areas of focus, Rocket Science, the Mini Maker Lab, Recycling and the Science Show. The initiative also trained youngsters on the concept of teamwork, introduces them to scientific critical thinking methods and engages them through project-based learning.