Zayed University Team wins the First Place in "At-Educom" Competition
Under the Patronage of H.E Sheikh Fahim Bin Sultan Bin Khalid Al Qasimi, Chairman of Sharjah Government Relations Department, and in presence of H.E Sheikh Khalid bin Ahmed Al Qasimi, Director General of the Information Department and e-Government, and Her Highness Sheikha Jameela bint Mohammed Al Qasimi, Vice President of Supreme Council for Family Affairs & Director General of Sharjah City for Humanitarian Services (SCHS), the closing ceremony of Assistive Applications Design Competition (At – EduCom) was organized on Saturday evening, October 24, 2015, at Sharjah Chamber for Commerce and Industry. Teams from University of Sharjah, the American University in Sharjah, Zayed University, and Ajman University of Science & Technology competed in this competition.
The closing ceremony is the third and the final stage of the competition, which was launched in March, 2015, in cooperation with the Quality Life Center of the Seoul National University with the support of LG Electronics (LG) to raise awareness of University students about Assistive Technology and Disability issues by offering a training course for the students on designing mobile applications for persons with disabilities.
The judges of the competition included H.E Sheikh Khalid bin Ahmed Al Qasimi, Director General of the Information Department and e-Government, Mr. Wu Chung, CFO of LG Electronics in the Gulf, Professor Sang Mok Lee, Chairman of Quality Life Center of the Seoul National University, Mrs. Rabab Abdul Wahab, a Supervisor at Al Amal School for the Deaf, and Mohammed Baloch, a Volunteer and an Activist in the disability filed.
This final stage of the competition precedes two previous stages. In the first stage, applications were submitted and studied. 40 applicants have been chosen for the competition. Only 17 applicants joined the second stage. They received an intensive training course on designing applications for smart phones. Hence, four teams were formulated.
Zayed University Team deserved the first place for their app (Salam), while the second place went to the University of Sharjah Team for their app (Jamyati). Those two teams will win a fully paid trip to South Korea to attend the Human Computer Interaction (HCI) Conference in Seoul, which will qualify them to be more creative in this field and present more scientific and technical means to improve the quality of life for people with disabilities through the proper use of assistive technology. They will also visit LG headquarters. As for the third place, it went to American University in Sharjah Team for their app (Voice).
The competition is based upon the role of Assistive Technology Center, which is an affiliate of Sharjah City for Humanitarian Services, in raising awareness of assistive technologies and motivating postgraduate students of Emirati universities to create products and apps targeting persons with disabilities. This competition will have a positive impact on students who will be motivated to invent apps that benefit people with disabilities.
According to Sheikha Jameela bint Mohammed Al Qasimi, SCHS is the first institute to create initiatives and projects for students with big and noble goals in order to improve the quality of life for people with disabilities and include them in public life so they will become productive and effective members in the society.
SCHS has established assistive technology center, which is the first of its kind in United Arab Emirates, to provide a suitable convenient educational environment to students with disabilities and cope with the rapidly evolving world of technology. SCHS will not spare an effort to elaborate on this matter until the desired progress is reached.
Professor Sang Mok Lee said, “I have been with students during the intensive training course in August. Their performance was extraordinary. I was impressed by their work. In my opinion, they are all winners”.
Source: schs.ae
