Under the patronage of His Excellency Eng. Hussain I. Al Hammadi Minister of Education for the UAE Khalifa University and the Emirates ICT Innovation Center (EBTIC) hosted two innovative programs this week aimed at engaging young Emirati talent in STEM fields and innovation.

32 Emirati students aged between 14 and 18 participated in the EBTIC Innovation and Entrepreneurship Boot Camp which focused on equipping students with the soft skills and business acumen needed to run a successful business including business development commercialization creative and presentation skills. A further 30 aged between 11 and 14 took part in the CoSpace Robotics program which offered a more technical focus with students learning how to program a virtual robot. The students were handpicked for inclusion in the programs by the Ministry of Education based on their interests in the respective fields.

The final day of the programs December 22 saw students showcase their learning through two team-based contests. 32 students the attendees of the Innovation and Entrepreneurship Boot Camp presented their final business strategies to a panel of judges from academia industry and government. The winners of this contest was a team that consists of students Hamda Naser Mariam Al Zahmi Amani Ali Fatima Mustafa and Amna Mohammed. Ibrahim Al Kher and Amna Al Hammadi won the Best Outstanding Male Student Award and the Best Outstanding Female Student Award respectively.

Meanwhile students participating in the CoSpace Robotics program competed in teams to build a virtual robot within the CoSpace virtual reality environment. The winners were Khalifa Al Blooshi and Abdulrahman Al Nuaimi in the first place Mohammed Al Noor and Dawood Abdulla in the second place and Abdulla Mohammed Abdulla and Rashed Al Tunaiji in the third place.

“Youth programs like these are an important way of instilling a sense of ambition and work ethic in young people. They also help them to realize that launching a successful start-up or making it in the evolving world of programming and robotics takes hard work and dedication ” said Dr. Nawaf Al Moosa Deputy Director of EBTIC. “With our focus on technology we believe that we can provide these students with some real life experience and knowledge to help prepare them to make an immediate contribution to the UAE’s burgeoning economy whether that’s through emerging STEM fields such as robotics or bringing the next advance in technology to market. We’d like to thank everyone who was involved in organizing these two programs particularly our international partners.”

“We are proud to have hosted two highly beneficial and innovative programs at the University ” said Dr. Arif Sultan Al Hammadi Khalifa University’s Executive Vice President. “Khalifa University remains dedicated to ensuring that young Emirati students are inspired to pursue STEM fields from an early age and we were grateful to be able to work with international partners to host these engaging programs and look forward for further collaboration in this field.”

Under the patronage of His Highness Sheikh Hamed Bin Zayed Al Nahyan Chairman of Abu Dhabi Crown Prince’s Court and Chairman of the Board of Trustees of Khalifa University Khalifa University (KU) will hold its fourth graduation ceremony on January 31 2017 at the Abu Dhabi National Theater. The ceremony will honor the University’s most recent 286 graduates from the schools fifteen of the Universities eighteen undergraduate and graduate degrees.

The graduation follows the recent announcements that KU was named one of the top universities in the emerging world and BRICS (Brazil Russia India China and South Africa) by Times Higher Education (THE) placing 49th out of 300 institutions worldwide ranked in the THE BRICS & Emerging Economies Rankings 2017 and coming in first in the Arab World ahead of competing institutions. In addition the University was the first ranked of three UAE institutions to appear on the list.

This honor follows announcements earlier in 2016 that the University ranked number one in the UAE according to Times Higher Education and QS World Rankings. In addition the University continues to be the youngest institution in the world to be named one of the top 100 universities under the age of 50 by QS moving up into the top 60 position on the list.

In total seven students will be awarded their PhD’s at the ceremony while 35 others will receive their MSc’s in either Electrical and Computer Engineering Information Security Mechanical Engineering Nuclear Engineering Civil and International Security or in Engineering by Research. The remainder of the 226 graduates will receive their BSc’s in either Aerospace Biomedical Civil Communication Computer Electrical and Electronic Industrial and Systems or Mechanical Engineering.

Khalifa University teams placed 2nd in the Robotics for Good and 3rd in the Drones for Good 2016 Competitions for their innovative “Navigation System for the Visually Impaired-Obstacle Detection (NSVI-OD)” robot and “Multi-Perspective Constant Aerial Surveillance System (M-CASS)” drone following the finals held in Dubai on February 17-18 2017.

The NSVI-OD robot was developed by team comprising both students and faculty: Khaled Humood Ahmed Alagha Ali AlShebli and Shakti Singh. Their robot aims to assist people with visual disabilities by providing them with a mechanism namely a rolling cane mounted with a camera and sensor which alerts them to obstacles in their path including staircases.

The M-CASS drone was created by a faculty team from Khalifa University Dr. Lakmal Seneviratne Dr. Guowei Cai and Dr. Tarek Taha with assistance from a team at the Gwangju Institute for Science and Technology. The drone uses two special sub-systems: a stationary tethered aerial robot system (STAR) and a novel 3-D wireless charging platform (3-D WCP) in order to provide continuous aerial surveillance without stopping to recharge the device.

Khalifa University displays innovative student and faculty research projects as part of its participation at the fourth International Defense Exhibition and Conference (IDEX 2017). In addition to showcasing the University’s achievements in the areas of robotics facial recognition software and aerospace design students and faculty are also on hand to discuss the research behind the devices and demonstrations.

The leading university’s booth show visitors the “Moon Cloud” a software platform that enables users to have complete security assurance evaluation of their services during their operations. Moon Cloud provides compliance assessment for cloud services traditional IT solutions on premise solutions and Internet of Things.

Visitors are also shown the “Pioneer Robot” which identifies traces and warns users about sources of indoor radiation. The SHARK ROV (Remotely Operated Vehicle) an underwater vehicle designed to reach depths of up to 100 meters.  A Tactical Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV) System which uses the latest manufacturing technologies and is capable of using less fuel and carrying a larger payload whilst demonstrating improved communication and maneuverability than current UAV’s.  

Other robotic innovations on display include a UAV that utilizes a tether system to recharge and a UAV capable of making quick and thorough inspections of large-scale aircraft and reporting possible flaws to users faster than the commonly used manual inspection process.

The University also showcases software capable of verifying identify through facial recognition. The “Access System using Kinect-based Face Authentication” uses motion detecting input devices (Kinect) to correctly identify someone through facial images. The system works in two modes: Authentication mode and Suspect Detection mode.  In the authentication mode the user enters there name and a pin code. 

In addition visitors to the stand have the opportunity to learn about the Emirates Technology and Innovation Center (ETIC) which is a joint venture between Emirates Advanced Research and Technology Holding (EARTH) and Khalifa University. ETIC aims to become a driving force for innovation in the field of computer-aided technologies and other selective-system technologies with applications for the military and the defense industry.

“Khalifa University was pleased to have this opportunity to present its research to leaders in the defense and security industry at IDEX 2017 ” said Dr. Arif Sultan Al Hammadi Khalifa University’s Executive Vice President. “IDEX is a great platform for us to present our programs that tie heavily in with local regional and worldwide security. We currently boast Master’s programs in International and Civil Security Information Security and options to specialize in Robotics and Aerospace Engineering at a PhD level.”

He added: “We believe in pushing boundaries and creating technologies that will benefit the UAE and the world and the student projects on display at this event will be a small taste of that.  This is one of the reasons we have been chosen to host Mohamed Bin Zayed International Robotics Challenge. I highly encourage people especially Emirati security professionals interested in pursuing a graduate degree to visit us and discuss the opportunities available for them at Khalifa University.”

Khalifa University currently offers Bachelor of Science degrees in Aerospace Biomedical Communications Computer (with optional concentration in Software Systems) Electrical and Electronic (with optional concentration in Power Systems) Mechanical Industrial and Systems Engineering Civil and Chemical Engineering and a B.Sc. in Applied Mathematics and Statistics (optional concentrations in Financial Mathematics/Mathematical Biology). 

At the graduate level the University offers a variety of highly specialized programs including an M.A. in International and Civil Security and MSc in Information Security Nuclear Engineering and M.Sc. by Research in Engineering (Electrical and Computer) and a M.Sc. in Systems and Engineering Management as well as a Ph.D. in Engineering (with the option to specialize in Electrical and Computer Mechanical Aerospace Nuclear Biomedical or Robotics Engineering).

Abu Dhabi 1 April 2017: Khalifa University of Science and Technology (KU) will be hosting a special “Open Day” at its Abu Dhabi campus on April 3 2017 from 2pm till 8pm. The event is open to prospective students and their families and will give interested attendees the opportunity to learn more about the University’s 12 undergraduate and 8 of its graduate programs. 

KU which was named the top University in the UAE in 2016 by the Times Higher Education (THE) World University Rankings and QS World University Rankings and 76th in Asia by the 2017 THE Asia University Rankings will use the Open Day as a platform to introduce the University’s Bachelor of Science programs in Aerospace Biomedical Civil Communications Computer (with an optional concentration in Software Systems) Chemical Industrial and Systems Petroleum Electrical and Electronic and Mechanical Engineering as well as its BSc in Applied Mathematics and Statistics (with options to concentration in Financial Mathematics or Mathematical Biology) and its BSc in Petroleum Geosciences.

Potential students will also have the chance to learn about scholarships open to both UAE national and expatriate students student housing and community life and take a tour of the institution’s new campus expansion. They will also meet with current students and faculty. 

“Our Open Day is a chance for the public to visit us and learn about our academic offerings and about our University community as a whole ” said the University’s Interim Executive Vice President Dr. Arif Sultan Al Hammadi. “Our students faculty and staff have created a vibrant campus life dedicated to research and innovation as well as personal and professional development.  Our students are earning a top quality degree in engineering and the sciences that will be recognized by employers across the UAE and the world and they are engaged in special interest clubs and activities that help to make them well rounded individuals and active members of society.”

He also said: “We are proud to have students who are known to be innovators scientists researchers volunteers entrepreneurs and artists and we are proud to support them as the future generation of industry leaders and inventors.”

In addition to undergraduate programs students interested in pursuing post-graduate studies can visit the campus to learn about KU’s Master of Science programs in Information Security Electrical and Computer Engineering Systems and Engineering Management Nuclear Engineering Mechanical Engineering and by Research in Engineering as well as a Master of Arts in International and Civil Security and a PhD with the opportunity to specialize in Electrical and Computer Mechanical Aerospace Biomedical Nuclear or Robotics Engineering. 

For more information about the Open Day interested attendees can call 800 33 22 11 or visiting www.khalifauniversity.ac.ae.  

Khalifa University of Science and Technology (KU) the organizer of the 12th Annual IEEE Students Day announced today the winners of the competition which was held yesterday on the University’s Abu Dhabi campus and witnessed the participation of over 250 students organized in 71 teams from 14 different Universities in the UAE. The event’s aims was to train students to work in competitive environments recognize the outstanding achievements of IEEE UAE students facilitate knowledge exchange between IEEE UAE students enhance IEEE students’ communication skills and raise the profile and increase public knowledge of IEEE within the UAE.

The winners in this year’s competition were  Alain University Aldar University and Khalifa University student teams in the first second and third places respectively in the Community Service Project category. In the Industrial Design Project category the winners in the top two places were teams from Ajman University and a team from Alain University in the third place. A team from Khalifa University finished first in the Software Engineering Project category with Ajman University and Alain University teams came second and third respectively. As for the Common Design Project category Khalifa University teams dominated the top two places while a team from Ajman University placed third. Ajman University was also able to place first in the Engineering Design Project category while teams from Khalifa University and University of Dubai placed second and third respectively.

In the Senior Design Project (SDP) category the competition was divided into three different subcategories. The winners in the subcategory of Control and Power were teams from Ajman University Higher Collages of Technology Sharjah Branch (Men) and Ajman University in the first second and third places respectively. The winning teams in the Computer and Software subcategory were Ajman University and Higher Collages of Technology Sharjah Branch (Women) first and second respectively and American University of Dubai and Ajman University in the third place. Finally in the Communication and Electronics subcategory came a team from American University in Dubai placing first with a team from the American University of Sharjah as the runner up and a team from the University of Sharjah placing third.

Around 40 faculty members formed the judging committee and reviewed the student projects. Each project received three evaluations in order to pick the winners.

“Congratulations to the students on their outstanding achievement in this high-key annual event. We are truly proud of the level of innovation demonstrated by the teams which was facilitated by the event’s competitiveness” said Captain Dr. Essa Basaeed IEEE UAE Section Chair “Events like this pave the way for students to innovate smart solutions to help solve the problems that face industry and society on a daily basis. This will motivate further innovation for the greater benefit of the students’ academic and professional careers.”

The 12th IEEE students’ day is an annual event that is organized and hosted by a different university in the UAE. Undergraduate students widely participate every year and come up with solutions to problems put for them by the organizing committee.

Khalifa University yesterday concluded the 12th annual Mobile Application Contest (MAC 2017) with an awards ceremony to recognize the winners of the innovative competition which saw submissions from university teams from around the UAE. First place was given to Al Hosn University’s team for their Augmented Reality Anatomy (ARA) application for learning second place to a Khalifa University’s student for his Sentiment Analysis of UAE Social Media application and the third place to Abu Dhabi University’s team for their submission named Wearable Glucometer with a Culturally-focused Diabetes Control App.

MAC 2017 attracted 19 submissions from six local institutions. This was the first year that apps were also designed for smart devises in addition to smart phones. App innovations ranged from systems for criminal/suspect investigation tracking to a mobile-programmable smart mirror for ambient “Internet of Things” environments.

“Congratulations to all the winners. This year’s submissions show a growth in understanding ability and knowledge in mobile application design ” said Dr. Arif Sultan Al Hammadi Executive Vice President of Khalifa University.  “Students are becoming much more versatile and faster to pick up on the latest trends in addition to being able to identify areas for innovation. This is important and represents the maturity of the competition as we enter its twelfth year. Khalifa University is proud to be the organizer for this event and to play an active part in encouraging our students and students from around the country to be more innovative and creative. It is our goal to foster the research and development environment in the UAE and organizing events like this one are an important way in which we do that.”

“MAC witnesses every year a major development that aligns itself with the latest trends in the fast-paced world of technology” said Dr. Jamal Zemerly MAC 2017 Steering Committee Chair. “For the first time this year we saw applications related to the Internet of Things (IoT). The world-class applications created by students managed to amaze us all with three of the submitted applications are scheduled for demonstration at the next GITEX Technology Exhibition which will be held in Dubai in October this year. I wish all the students every success in their academic and job careers.”

Yousef Al Jasmi a Telecommunications Emergency Expert at the UAE’s Telecommunications Regulatory Authority (TRA) who also served as Chief Judge in this year’s version of MAC praised the quality of applications presented this year. He said that these applications were submitted by a generation of young creators who were able to impress the judges with their ideas their approach to the problems and proposed solutions and that will overcome obstacles the society face in general. Al Jasmi expressed his wishes for further development in the level of innovation in the upcoming years.

He also said that TRA proactively supports all aspects of technology development that are in line with the UAE’s strategic plans and the objectives set by the TRA.
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The Emirates ICT Innovation Center (EBTIC) located at Khalifa University of Science and Technology an ICT research and innovation center established by Etisalat British Telecommunications (BT) and Khalifa University and supported by ICT Fund has developed a tool that measures sentiment across social media in the UAE. The creation of the tool follows the signing of an MOU between EBTIC and the Statistics Center Abu Dhabi (SCAD).

The tool uses Twitter to assess sentiment across the country and generates a detailed map of the location and density of happiness nationally. Current work focuses on increasing the tool’s accuracy in analyzing Arabic tweets and categorizing them based on areas of interest to SCAD and its customers for example education health and economy.

“We are proud to see our researchers participate in an innovative project like this” said Dr. Arif Sultan Al Hammadi Interim Executive Vice President of Khalifa University of Science and Technology “Our researchers always engage with projects that are significant to the UAE’s economy and achieving happiness one of the goals set by the UAE government. We at KU through research and active participation of our researchers and students contribute to achieving those goals.”

“Since its inception EBTIC has been active in the field of social-media analysis one of our strategic research priorities ” said Dr. Nawaf Almoosa Deputy Director of EBTIC. “Our proposed techniques have generated numerous patents and scientific publications and are being applied to assess customer satisfaction and event detection by Etisalat and British Telecom. Right now happiness is one of the most important national goals in the UAE and Twitter offers first-hand insight into the thoughts feelings and concerns of the population. That is why developing a tool that analyses the large volume of social media content in real-time and providing it in a visual form that enables interpretation is important.”

Dr. Nawaf also said: “We are delighted to be working with Statistics Center in Abu Dhabi (SCAD) as one of our strategic government partners in this project. This partnership stems from EBTIC’s objective to develop solutions tailored to solving problems related to the UAE’s society and economy. We hope to see this partnership grow even further and with the help of SCAD to expand it into other research areas that are of particular interest to the emirate of Abu Dhabi and the UAE.”

For his part HE Butti Al Qubaisi Director General of Statistics Centre – Abu Dhabi (SCAD) praised the joint cooperation between SCAD and the EBTIC research and innovation centre in the areas of big data and advanced predictive analytics emphasizing the importance of teamwork and cooperation for the development of Abu Dhabi’s statistical system and the achievement of the vision of the emirate’s Government.

HE Dr. Butti Al Qubaisi pointed out that the Statistics Centre seeks to shift towards smart electronic statistical surveys and reliance on big data and administrative records in order compile accurate statistical indicators at the lowest possible cost. The Centre achieved tangible achievements in this regard cutting the costs of field surveys by 72% last year.

As Al Qubaisi observes: “The detailed study and exploitation of the different types of big data is likely to open the broad prospects for statistical work in the Emirate of Abu Dhabi. SCAD is therefore very interested in the subject of big data as a potential source of official statistical data in the future. In this regard the Centre has embarked on a number of projects including the project being implemented in cooperation with EBTIC which aims to utilize big data from social media in the production of important statistical indicators thus reducing the burden on respondents the costs of data collection”.

He also pointed out that the use of big data in official statistics around the world is still a nascent field so SCAD can present statistical agencies with a practical experience in adapting big data for official statistical uses. The Center is currently seeking to build the necessary technical capabilities and acquire all electronic and technical tools and methods conducive to efficient manipulation of big data supporting its own efforts with expertise from specialized agencies.