High-school students from across Qatar participated in the STEAM summer camp organised by Texas A&M University at Qatar (Tamuq).
The goal of the STEAM summer camp was to provide high school students with the opportunity to engage in hands-on activities so they can enhance valuable skills including critical thinking, problem solving, communication, collaboration, creativity and innovation.
Over the week-long programme, students learned to incorporate arts practices, elements, and design into STEM fields. The students worked to improve public speaking skills and design prototypes for solving pressing engineering problems, as well as used 3D printing techniques and explored several mathematical concepts.
Bissam Abdulghany, a student of QF’s Qatar Academy for Science and Technology who participated in the programme, said: “It was a valuable experience for me. The insights provided by these incredible mentors definitely helped me see a different perspective. Building robots, and working on my public speaking skills are my personal highlights from this experience.”
Sarah Soltan, a student from Qatar Academy Doha, said: “This programme helped me improve my social and communications skills, working alongside students from various different schools. One of the most surprising lessons from this experience is how there is an emphasis on mathematics, arts and influences of nature on engineering. I never thought of it like that before. I am glad I participated in this camp.”
The sessions were mentored by experts from Tamuq and other Education City campuses. At the end of the programme, students were split into teams and had to showcase their projects.
Tamuq is dedicated to educating “the whole engineer” who can integrate all types of knowledge when engineering solutions to real world problems.
Dr Aymen Elsheikh, the director of STEAM initiative, Tamuq said: “It is amazing to see how students can come into their own and shine when given the right opportunities. We focused on developing skills that will enable them to become a better version of themselves – beyond academics. There were sessions on public speaking, creating graphics, and finding engineering solutions to everyday problems. The workshop witnessed students stepping out of their comfort zones, networking with other students and mentors, and putting their best foot forward during the STEAM showcase presentations.”
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