The Qatar University (QU) Young Scientists Centre has won two gold medals in the iCan 2020 Preliminaries organised by the Toronto International Society of Innovation & Advanced Skills (TISIAS), Canada.
The centre is qualified with two innovative projects in the final competition of the fifth International Invention Innovation Competition in Canada, to be held on August 29 through online communication platforms.
The annual iCan competition is the global gateway in Toronto to inventors and innovators around the world. One of the most important goals of the competition is to envision the minds of people that 'Anyone Can Invent' is becoming a reality through this international event.
Realising the growth of their passion and commitment towards innovation is ultimately evolving the culture of iCAN alongside the universal innovation community.
The first project in the category of building and constructions is concerned with a research that was carried out with students from ‘I am a researcher’ track under the supervision of the centre.
Titled 'Ductile Fibre Reinforced Ultra-high Performance Concretes', the project aims to strengthen the properties of concrete, make it more effective and sustainable, and reduce the rate of corrosion by adding fibers to it, which contributes positively to improving the infrastructure and reducing the economic cost of raw materials and maintenance.
The second project in the category of Science and Engineering is concerned with the innovative educational methods followed by the centre in all its programmes and initiatives. The methodology that the centre follows in attracting young people to science, encouraging them to research and innovation, and providing an ideal environment was explained, which allowed students of all school levels to think creatively.
The centre is an extension and development of the Al-Bairaq programme, which has won several international awards, including the WISE Innovation Award in Education 2015.
Dr Noora al-Thani, director of the centre, expressed happiness with - and pride in - the achievement, saying: “Difficulties push people to employ their maximum creative potential, and winning two gold awards indicates that we are on the right path. We bear the responsibility of developing and upgrading our young generation and enabling them to compete with their counterparts globally. Therefore, the centre proposes specialised educational initiatives and programmes for the various educational stages, aiming to stimulate students' curiosity by providing an interactive educational environment.”
