Qatar students’ performance at US contest draws praise

AlFaisal Without Borders (Alf) Foundation has congratulated the participating Qatar teams at the Destination Imagination (DI) Global Finals.A total of 19 teams from 18 independent schools and four teams from three international schools participated in the finals in Knoxville, Tennessee (US). The delegation of 150 members that travelled to the US included students, teachers and parents.This is in addition to the presence of teams from Saudi Arabia and Jordan, all of which are under the umbrella of AlFaisal Without Borders Foundation.In a statement yesterday, Alf said “congratulations go to Moza Bint Mohamed Elementary School, which impressed the judges with 12th place out of 52 teams in the Close Encounters challenge, and Moza Bint Mohamed Preparatory Independent School, which won the 24th place out of 62 in the same challenge.” HE Sheikh Faisal bin Qassim al-Thani, chairman of the Board of Trustees at Alf, said: “It is my privilege to congratulate all our global finalists for their outstanding performance. This is one step further in our pursuance of Qatar’s development ambitions as outlined in Qatar National Vision 2030. It is a true reflection of our progressive educational system. The Alf Foundation is working tirelessly to develop ideas that nurture our young people and improve our country.“The innovative ideas from our young, creative minds have done us proud. It shows that we have a resource pool of thinkers who have the potential to take our country to the next level.” Abdullatif Ali al-Yafei, general manager of AlFaisal Without Borders Foundation, said: “The finals highlighted the great achievements that students can have through collaboration, innovation, scientific research as well as problem-solving and critical-thinking skills.They have developed unique skills that will help them achieve success during their lives. We congratulate all participating students on their creativity, flexibility and ideas.”Ali Talal Mar’e, executive director of the Alf Foundation, noted: “The results have done Qatar proud considering the high standard of global competition. A record total of 1,464 teams from 20 countries competed for the honours, including teams from 16 US states.In this context, we see our finalists as a national asset and torch-bearers of Qatar’s creativity. The finals also served as a learning experience for our young talent on the international stage.” Noura al-Jabri, a student from Hafsa Independent Preparatory School for Girls, stressed that she took pride in representing her country on such an international platform.“We were anxious at first but later gained confidence and impressed everyone.”Meanwhile, Mervat Nasser, director of the Pearls Qatar team, said: “Moza Bint Mohamed Elementary School for Girls is keen to participate in events and competitions, within and outside the country, consistent with the school’s vision and mission.”Haya Hussein Sorour, a member of the Pearls Qatar team, said: “I consider my participation in the international competition a successful experience. Thanks to God, we were able to come in 12th place at the international level.”