DHAHRAN: Team Oryx from Dhahran picked up the Innovative Thinking Award at the Aramco F1 in Schools World Finals in Singapore on Wednesday.
The prize was awarded for the team’s creativity in enterprise, management, engineering and verbal presentation and overall excellence in their innovative thinking.
The international competition opened in the city state on Sunday. This year was the second in a row that a Saudi team had taken part with the support of the King Abdulaziz Center for World Culture (Ithra) and sponsorship by Saudi Aramco.
Hosted by Formula 1 commentator David Croft, the awards ceremony, which lasted almost two hours, was livestreamed via YouTube.
“I want to say I’m so impressed with what you know and what you do with that knowledge. The future of F1 is very safe,” he said.
Khalid Zamil, who attended the award ceremony on behalf of Aramco, acknowledged the role of parents and teachers in supporting the finalists and his company’s commitment to advancing education in STEM (science, technology, engineering and mathematics) subjects.
“There’s a lot of bright young people in the world, including all of you here, that are going to be the designers and engineers of our future,” Zamil said.
“We need you to shape the future. I wish you the best of luck on your journey and that your participation at this edition of F1 Schools World Finals will inspire your success.”
The Saudi teams, comprising 18 students, went to Singapore after completing eight months of local, regional and semi-final contests. Teams Shaheen and Oryx from Dhahran and the Abiyya team from Riyadh qualified for the international competition alongside 68 other teams from 29 countries around the world.
All of the teams were required to create an F1 model car.
Noura Al-Zamil, manager of programs at Ithra offered encouragement to the participants prior to their departure.
“The students’ participation in the F1 in Schools competition in Singapore affirms the center’s vision and mission to support the youth, to help elevate their skills in engineering and mathematics, emphasizing the program’s STEM approach that develops students’ creativity and intellectual prowess, and foresees a promising pioneering future,” she said.
At a ceremony held at the Ithra headquarters in Dhahran in June to select the three Saudi teams, Andrew Denford, the founder and chairman of F1 in Schools, told Arab News: “I’ve just attended the first ever Saudi Arabia national final, it’s been absolutely incredible. We’re over the moon.”