Siemens Student Award 2011 names ten finalists who will compete for a share of USD 45,000 in prize money

The Siemens Student Award 2011 is seeking the best answers to one of the world’s toughest questions, “How can you build sustainable cities in the desert?” An encouraging 630 ideas were submitted by university students throughout the Middle East. 10 finalists have been selected from universities in the UAE, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Egypt and Pakistan, and their ideas will be evaluated by a high-profile international jury panel. Three winners will be announced at an award ceremony in Doha, Qatar on 01 November 2011. Winners will take home a share of USD 45,000 in prize money. 

Since last month, submissions from all across Middle East were evaluated by a council of Siemens Student Award experts along with the online community in order to select 10 finalists from the 630 ideas. “It was definitely not an easy task for the involved experts and the online community to decide on the ten finalists,” stated the patron of the Siemens Student Award 2011, Erich Kaeser, CEO, Siemens Middle East. “So many highly creative ideas made it challenging to decide on the ten candidates to join the final round. The engagement of the student community across Middle East and the high quality of the submitted ideas clearly proves the high calibre potential of the region.” 

The ten finalists selected by the Siemens Student Award experts and the online community are:

From the UAE

- Loay Al Mujadidi, American University of Sharjah (AUS)

- Pioneers group, Higher College of Technology (HCT): Yousef Jaber Al Kuwaiti, Eisa Jaber Al Kuwaiti and Abdulla Darwish Sulaiman

From Saudi Arabia

- Noura Chehab, King Abdullah University of Science and Technology (KAUST),

From Egypt

- The Green Thinkers group, Minia University: Rofayda El-Emam, Ahmed Abd Alaziz and Bahaa El-Deen Khatter

- Shaimaa Ahmed, American University of Cairo (AUC)

-  Mohamed Youssef, Suez Canal University

From Pakistan

- Ali Sajid Malik, NEDUET University

- Ahmed Ullah Mazullah, University of Technology and Engineering Lahore

From Qatar

- Group entry, University of Qatar: Mohammed Mushtaha and Abdullah Zia

-  Amr Sayed, Texas A&M University 

These ten finalists will attend a prestigious award ceremony in Doha, Qatar on 01 November 2011, with attendance of Her Excellency Sheikha Hanadi Bint Nasser Al-Thani as guest of honor and representatives from across Middle East. Three winners will be chosen during the event by an international jury of high-profile individuals from institutions and organisations involved with sustainability initiatives. The first place winner will receive USD 25,000, while two runners-up will receive USD 15,000 and USD 5,000 respectively. Moreover, all 10 finalists will be offered internship opportunities with Siemens. 

Siemens demonstrates with the Student Award its commitment towards the Middle East’s social progress by encouragement of knowledge exchange, innovative thinking, and building local talent that shapes the future. 

“It will be a tough task for the judges to pick three winners from these ten finalists – the calibre of ideas submitted is highly impressive,” stated Joachim Kundt, CEO, Siemens Lower Gulf Region, “four finalists out of ten in total is highlighting the creative spirit and high quality of education in universities of the Lower Gulf Region.”