A team from Tariq Bin Zeyad Independent School for Boys has won the first prize of a trip to visit several vehicle factories in Heathrow, London, in the final race of Qatar University’s 4th Life is Engineering schools initiative (LIEP4).

The winners - Hamad Mohamed Ahmed Fakhroo, Rayan Shaheen Yousef Bouhdoud, Ahmed Hassan Ali Shams, Abdulaziz Abdullah Majed al-Khulaifi, Saud Hasan Majed al-Khulaifi, Abdulrahman Khaled Mohamed al-Subaiey, Abdullah Saeed Saleh Bughunaim, and Abdulaziz Juma Saeed al-Sulaiti - were mentored by teacher
Nabeel Jbouri.

The second prize of QR22,500 went to the team from Ahmed bin Mohammed al-Thani Independent School for Boys and the third prize of QR18,000 to the one from Qatar Technical Independent School for Boys.

The final race was held last Saturday at the Lusail International Circuit. A total of 48 students from six schools took part in three days of preparation leading up to the race, the culmination of four months of technical training and
support to the participants.

In all, teams from 15 schools were selected to the competition this year and six schools reached the finals. Leading up to the race, the students participated in a series of competitions aimed at promoting the engineering profession, and communication, cultural and team building
activities.

The technical component of the programme challenged the participants to build a two-seater high performance race car to compete in the final race. The students were also introduced to basic physics, chemistry and engineering principles.

QU vice president and chief academic officer Dr Mazen Hasna said: “To see these young men learn and achieve so much personally and academically in such a relatively short time in what is considered a challenging field, is what motivates us to continually seek ways to access the talents of many others. LIEP continues to produce young men who have a genuine interest and enthusiasm in the field of engineering and we hope to be welcoming them as students at QU in the near future.”

College of Engineering dean Dr Rashid al-Marri observed that the strategic partnership between the college and the industry delivered a programme that is effective in producing future industry leaders for Qatar.

Department of Mechanical and Industrial Engineering head Dr Saud Abdul Ghani thanked the sponsors and Williams F1 for their support for the fourth year.

“The programme proved itself to be effective in delivering its main aim which is promoting engineering among Qatari male students and building future Qatari leaders,” he added.

The event was attended by College of Engineering members, associate dean for research and graduate studies Dr Abdulmagid Hammuda, faculty and students.

Also present were representatives of LIEP sponsors and strategic partners: Qatar Motors and Motorcycles Federation general secretary Mohamed Saad al-Morraikhi, RasGas’ head of learning and development Thamer al-Kaabi, ExxonMobil Qatar Research Centre director Dr Andy Wigton, Qapco career counsellor Ian Davis, and Qatar Shell Service Company’s Qatarisation adviser Ali
al-Hababi.