12 students win UOWD academic scholarships

Imran Mojib, Special Correspondent

Twelve students won Academic Scholarships from the University of Wollongong in Dubai (UOWD) to pursue their higher education as they won the second edition of the AppVision competition.

The winning projects included, Projectify by Future International Private School, MediCare by Liwa International School, and the standout sustainability project Livin Green by Delhi Private School, Dubai.

Nearly 200 students were grouped into 55 teams for the competition hosted by UOWD. Each team had to develop and present an application to be used on any smart phone or tablet device. Along with this, teams were also tasked with packaging their ideas and creatively describing their thoughts in a poster and present a non-functional interface of the app.  The format of the competition encourages youth to embrace technology and to think outside the box and come up with innovative solutions to solve day-to-day problems. This year, the judging panel consisted of representatives from multinational companies such as Microsoft, Nokia and GE.

The outstanding students of Delhi Private School, Dubai were one of the three winning groups awarded Academic Scholarships to attend UOWD, for their project, Livin Green, an app based on sustainability and waste management. The concept uses digital money for disposing waste in an organised manner, pairing with convenient Smart Trash Cans, using NFC or QR codes and transferring credits to the users digital account when doing so. AppVision was conceptualised by the visionary faculty of UOWD, to explore and inspire fresh talent from the region. The concept behind the competition was to give students a platform to showcase their competencies and skills; as well as allowing them to mingle with industry practitioners providing them with the right exposure.

Professor Mohamed Watfa, Associate Dean (Research) – UOWD, commented, “It’s fascinating to see young high school students come up with great ideas each year. This is the second time we are hosting the competitionand it was refreshing to see students come up with innovative ideas, specially solutions to waste management. Ideas like these can help build a sustainable future.”

Known for its premium quality education, UOWD has earned a great level of respect and trust from the UAE. Established in 1993, the esteemed University of Wollongong in Dubai is one of the UAE’s first International Universities and has completed 25 years of Academic excellence in the region. All degree programmes offered by the University of Wollongong in Dubai are accredited by the Ministry of Education - Higher Education Affairs through the Commission for Academic Accreditation.