RIYADH: A Saudi girl has been named among 10 finalists for "Siemens Student Award 2011" for her enduring quest to build sustainable cities in the desert using energy-efficient technology.
Noura Chehab of King Abdullah University of Science and Technology (KAUST) has been selected for her innovative concept entitled "Transforming A Desert Into A Haven" in which she has propounded a theory on how to utilize and apply energy technology for sustainable cities in the desert.
Erich Kaeser, CEO of Siemens Middle East, said Thursday the Saudi participant’s idea was brilliant, and it was one among 10. “The highly creative ideas submitted by students made it challenging to decide on the 10 candidates in the final round," he said.
“It was definitely not an easy task for the involved experts and the online community to decide on the 10 finalists,” said Kaeser, patron of the Siemens Student Award, in a press statement.
He said Siemens was seeking the best answers to one of the world’s toughest questions, “How to build sustainable cities in the desert?”
Ten finalists, from the 630 ideas submitted, have been selected from universities in Saudi Arabia, the UAE, Qatar, Egypt and Pakistan and their ideas will be evaluated by a high-profile international jury panel. All 10 finalists will attend the awards ceremony in Doha on Nov. 1, when the top three winners will be announced.
The first place winner will receive $25,000, while the two runners-up will receive $15,000 and $5,000 respectively. "Moreover, all 10 finalists will be offered internship opportunities with Siemens," said Arja Talakar, CEO of Siemens Saudi Arabia.
Talakar expressed happiness over the selection of the Saudi student Chehab, whose key theme was the utilization and application of affordable energy-efficient technologies such as solar energy, which is a natural, renewable source of energy.
He said, "The youth talent pool is vast in Saudi Arabia and this award allows students to showcase their talent and gain recognition regionally."
For Siemens, this is not just an award but also a chance to develop and cultivate the youth by offering them opportunities to contribute toward Kingdom’s development, Talakar added. He said Siemens was also starting as early as elementary school to create awareness of sustainability.
With the "Green Box" program, Siemens provides teachers with educational kits that contain 10 experiments related to environment and alternative energy sources tailor-made for children aged between eight years to 12 years.
Siemens is implementing this Green Box program in schools across the Middle East with an aim to awaken students' interests in science and sustainable technology.
Siemens AG (Berlin and Munich) is a global powerhouse in electronics and electrical engineering, operating in the industry, energy and health care sectors.
Source : Arab News, Oct 20, 2011 23:08