الأخبار الرئيسية

Six Day Full of Science and Excitement

Oman Science Festival 2022 Kicks-off its Third Edition

HE Eng. Said bin Hamoud Al Mawali, Minister of Transportation, Communication, and Information Technology patronaged the opening ceremony of the Oman Science Festival 2022 in its third edition, with the slogan “Together we live the Passion of Science” yesterday (Monday) morning with the presence of HE Dr. Madiha bint Ahmed Al Shaibaniya, Minister of Education, HE Eng. Abdullah Al-Sawaha, Minister of Information Technology and Communications in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, and a number of their Excellencies the Ministers, Honorees members of the State Council, members of Shura Council, a number of their Excellencies the Undersecretaries of the Ministries, and a number of directors of regional offices and bodies, at the Oman Convections and Exhibitions Center. The Oman Science Festival targets school students, educators, parents, governmental and private higher education institutions, researchers, scientists, specialists and academics, governmental, military, and private institutions and bodies concerned with science and technology, civil societal institutions, those interested in science from various countries. The festival continues for six consecutive days.

HE Eng. Said bin Hamoud Al-Mawali, Minister of Transportation, Communications and Information Technology, and the sponsor of the event, said: "I am proud to sponsor the opening of the third edition of the Oman Science Festival, and we have great hope for the future of our children as we witness their interaction with technology, and we look forward to the goodness of our country the Sultanate of Oman, as it is a wonderful generation with a great passion for science, especially with regard to technology and educational technology.”

HE Eng. Abdullah bin Amer Al-Sawaha, Minister of Communications and Information Technology in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, said: “What we saw today in this scientific demonstration is an indication that the Sultanate of Oman is moving in the right direction in accordance with Oman’s vision 2040 under the leadership of His Majesty Sultan Haitham bin Tariq - may God protect him and protect him. This is an opportunity to highlight the latent energies of young men and women as well. We have seen scientific models and projects in the field of energy, renewable and sustainable energy, and similar projects in the field of environment and its preservation, and others in technology in its various sectors and specializations. Therefore, I congratulate you on the Sultanate of Oman achieving the best global center for graduates in the index of innovation, Science, Mathematics and Technology".

HE Dr. Abdullah bin Khamis Ambosaidi, Undersecretary of the Ministry of Education for Education and Chairman of the Organizing Committee of the festival, said: “The implementation of this national festival in its third edition is more extensive than it was, with an increase in the number of halls, events and activities, and the presence of external participation in seminars and workshops presented in the margin of the festival, and the Ministry of Education, with the efforts of all the partners, brought out this festival as we have seen today, and the great turnout at the opening ceremony is proof that this festival has its own special place as it is a very important scientific phenomenon in our country, and I hope that it will be among the map of festivals and exhibitions in the coming years. As we wandered between the corners, we noticed an active scientific movement through the diversity of activities, which is a commendable social movement, and we hope that our children will realize the value of science in their lives and the development of their society.”

The opening ceremony included an introductory film of the Oman Science Festival, and a tour of the patronage of the ceremony and the attendees around the pillars of the festival which includes 70 pillars. These pillars included many interactive scientific activities and workshops, scientific exhibitions of innovations, scientific experiments, scientific competitions, lectures and discussion sessions, and scientific theater. Among these pillars, the health pillar which includes 46 activities, the education pillar includes 18 activities, the skills pillar includes 3 activities, the commerce and trading pillar includes 20 activities. The scientific innovations exhibition includes 75 innovations from various governmental and private institutions and military bodies, while the corner of the innovative workshop includes 11 workshops that varies between innovations modeling, marketing, developing, and preserving ideas. The space and aeronautics corner includes 30 activities while the food safety pillar includes21 activities. The artificial intelligence pillar includes 25 activities while the environment pillar includes 24 various activities. The international organizations, agencies and institutions are divided into two pillars: the universe wonders pillar which presents the cosmic phenomena in an interactive way, delivered by a number of scientists from the European Organization for Nuclear Research, the Karlsruhe Institute of Technology in Germany, and the University of Glasgow. The second pillar is the peaceful nuclear science in cooperation with the international atomic energy agency in which specialists showcase the most prominent technologies in nuclear energy uses in various aspects of life (medical, agricultural, commercial) in interactive way. The scientific cinema includes 25 various scientific films throughout the festival days. The stema-zone pillar includes 3 activities while the challenges pillar includes 4 activities, and the scientific competitions corner includes various competitions such as the hackathons, programing, robotics, and drones. The scientific theatre includes two theatres: Ahmed bin Majid Theater, which includes (12) activities, and Ibn Al-Haytham Theater which includes 35 activities. The festival also includes interactive stands for the sponsors and innovation supporting pillars. The innovation space presented by the Ministry of Higher Education, Scientific Research and Innovation includes 4 activities, scientific stories, and a corner for souvenirs. The cybersecurity pillar includes 6 activities, Anotic bus, and police bus. The festival also includes lectures and scientific discussion sessions in the amphitheater, and scientific figures roaming around the festival embodying scientific personalities, interacting with the audience to talk about their scientific achievements through different ages.

          Said Al Batashi, supervisor of activities at the Ministry of Education, said: “The theater is divided into two theatres, namely: Ahmed bin Majid Theater, which hosts many shows, competitions and inauguration of many initiatives, and Ibn Al Haitham Theater is a mini theater dedicated to children and school students. It offers many interactive shows that are suitable for children's ages.”

The health corner included (64) activities, including: the virtual platform (Please Your Mind) organized by the National University of Science and Technology, which allows the visitor to experience the psychological counseling service (remotely), and a number of electronic psychological tests exploring to the visitor's psychological state, and after evaluation, visitors are guided to a range of psychological techniques such as breathing and relaxation exercises. Among the activities also the Patient’s Journey organized by Sultan Qaboos Integrated Center for Cancer Treatment and Research. In it, the visitor will have an immersive educational experience that shows the details of the work in the center using 3D technology. The pillar also includes a Health Experiments event organized by Al Sharqiyah University, in which the visitor learns about the shapes and colors of red and white blood cells by drawing a small blood sample and examining it with a microscope.

The space and aeronautics corner includes (30) activities, including: The 3D Factory event, organized by the International Space Station, in which the visitor has the opportunity to see a model of the International Space Station, which was manufactured using 3D printing technology. The presence of the model aims to introduce visitors to the station, and how it serves space science in terms of research in the space environment and zero gravity, as the International Space Station is the right place to test spacecraft systems and equipment for possible future long-term missions to the moon and Mars. The corner also includes the "Technology and Aviation" event organized by the Oman Aviation team, the application allows the visitors to experience the flight by providing a number of electronic devices that contain flight application programs simulating reality, and this simulation comes to give the audience the opportunity to experience flying and also to know the best practitioners of this technology, as the latest versions of the simulation will be provided.

          Abeer Al Busaidi, an educational researcher at the Ministry of Education, said: “The platform of the Ministry of Education aims to highlight the Ministry’s role in employing technology and science by presenting the programs and projects that have been implemented by the Ministry’s agencies, and it consists of several corners, in addition to a hall for holding seminars and training workshops for all segments of society, including students, teachers, parents, entrepreneurs and others. A set of programs and projects are presented in the corners of the platform, such as the Information Technology Chains project, the use of technology in the implementation of applied science experiments, the electronic preparation program, digital transformation, the introduction of international programs, the introduction of the programs of science experts and experts in the second field, and access to the employment of technology in the Directorate General of Administrative Affairs. In addition to that is the implementation of training workshops and seminars, including the discussion on the mechanism of applying the entrepreneurship curriculum for the tenth grade, in the presence of a number of tenth grade students and life skills teachers, a security policy workshop, an innovative in our environment workshop, a workshop to introduce the Model, and a workshop on the Mawred system.”

On the sidelines of the festival, the Ministry of Education signed two agreements. The first was on equipping and financing the Ibn al-Nadhar Center for Science and Innovation in the Wilayat of Samail, in Al Dakhiliyah Governorate, in cooperation with the Petroleum Development Oman (PDO), which will serve more than (25,000) students in the wilayat, as it will include Robotics Hall, AI center, Renewable Energy Center, and Nano Lab. The agreement was signed on the part of the Ministry by HE Majid bin Said Al Bahri, Undersecretary for Administrative and Financial Affairs, and on the part of the Petroleum Development Oman (PDO) Eng. Abdul Amir bin Abdul Hussein Al-Ajmi, Executive Director of Foreign Affairs and Value Creation at the company.

The second agreement was a cooperation agreement with Khimji Ramdas to support (16) schools in the Wilayat of Dima and Al-Tayyin in North Al Sharqiyah Governorate, by providing them with educational and technical programs and tools, interactive screens, and school umbrellas, with the aim of providing an attractive school environment, and developing students’ skills and knowledge in accordance with the requirements of twenty-first century skills. The agreement was signed on the part of the Ministry by HE Majid bin Said Al-Bahri, Undersecretary for Administrative and Financial Affairs, and on the part of Khimji Ramdas by Nilesh Khimji Ramdas, a member of the company’s board of directors.