Winners of ‘Arab Young Scientists Award’ announced

The winners of the Yousef Bin Saeed Lootah Young Scientists Award in the fields of circular economy, renewable energy, and green chemistry were officially announced during the opening session of the 57th General Conference of the Association of Arab Universities (an organisation working within the framework of the Arab League).

The event was held at the International University of Science and Technology in Kuwait, and was attended by Dr Mohamed Ayman Ashour, Minister of Higher Education and Scientific Research of the Arab Republic of Egypt, Dr Amr Ezzat Salama, Secretary-General of the Association of Arab Universities, Dr Abdelmajid Bin Amara, Secretary-General of the Union of Arab Scientific Research Councils, as well as presidents and representatives of over 300 Arab universities, alongside a distinguished group of academics and higher education experts from across the Arab world.

The winners of the Yousef Bin Saeed Lootah Young Scientists Award were recognised across three categories: In the circular economy category, the first prize of $15,000 was awarded to Professor Dr Heba Salah Hamed from Ain Shams University in Egypt.

In the renewable energy category, the first prize of $15,000 went to a project by Professor Dr Maher Al-Jaabari, researcher Raghad Mubarak, and researcher Dana Al-Jaabari from Palestine Polytechnic University.

The second prize of $7,500 in the same category was awarded to researchers Mohamed Nasser Nafeh and Hamdy Hassan from Zagazig University in Egypt.

In the green chemistry category, the first prize of $15,000 was awarded to Professor Dr. Wael Dagher from Damascus University in Syria.

The second prize of $7,500 went to researcher Dalia Hamed Amer from Badr University in Egypt.

During his speech at the conference’s opening session, Yousef Bin Saeed Lootah, Chairman of the Board of Directors of Yousef Bin Saeed Lootah Investment Group, praised the high caliber of research submitted by young Arab scientists. He expressed his pride in their scientific excellence and in recognizing this distinguished group through the first Arab award of its kind focused on circular economy, renewable energy, and green chemistry. He noted the award’s significant strong engagement from the scientific and academic communities across the region, emphasizing that this award is just the first step toward transforming winning research into real-world initiatives and development projects.

He said: “This award reflects the wise leadership of the United Arab Emirates in promoting science and supporting young scientists across the Arab world. It aligns with the UAE’s vision for achieving sustainable development goals and the Net Zero 2050 Strategy.”

Although the winners were announced at the opening session of the General Conference, a special awards ceremony will be held in Dubai to honor the winners and their university presidents, where the official prizes will be presented. Additionally, several researchers from the UAE who submitted outstanding projects in the same scientific fields will also be recognized.

The Yousef Bin Saeed Lootah Investment Group and the Association of Arab Universities had jointly announced the launch of the Yousef Bin Saeed Lootah Young Scientists Award in Dubai in December 2023. Supervised by the Association of Arab Universities, the award is granted every two years to five winners who are either current students or recent graduates from any of the Union’s member universities. The award’s total value is Dhs250,000 and covers three core areas: circular economy, renewable energy, and green chemistry.

The award aims to promote research, education, and international collaboration in these fields, spotlight the achievements of young scientists, highlight the potential impact of their research and innovations on social and economic transformation and sustainable development, and encourage youth engagement with science.