The winners of the Qatar 2031 Time Capsule Competition created history yesterday as they buried the future predictions of Qatar’s students at a ceremony at Qatar Science & Technology Park.
Burying the time capsule was the final stage in the competition in which Qatar school children were asked to imagine what their lives would be like in 25 years and what technologies they thought we would be using in the future. Hundreds of primary school and high school students entered the competition, and five winners were awarded laptop computers at the popular Explore QSTP exhibition in September.
The predictions of all students were sealed in the time capsule and buried at the QSTP site yesterday afternoon. It will be re-opened in 2031. By that time, Qatar will have a population of one million people, income of $90,000 per person, and an average a life expectancy of 84 according to Muneera Al Mohannadi of The Learning Centre, one of the competition winners.
Other winners were Ahmed Ibrahim Khatib of Ideal Indian School, Candida Myers of Doha English Speaking School, Alexander Pirinoli Cottorell of Doha English Speaking School and Aravindh Rajan of Ideal Indian School.
Students had the opportunity to meet and discuss their ideas at the ceremony with Dr Nabeel Al Salem, Network Development Manager of QSTP. “It was an exciting day for the students and for QSTP” Dr Nabeel said. “The students’ ideas and enthusiasm for science and technology are very engaging. I can’t think of a better addition to the QSTP site than the time capsule which literally encapsulates this enthusiasm and innovation.”
Muneera Al Mohannadi was delighted to have taken part in the competition. “I always had ideas to design and invent items, and the time capsule competition gave me the opportunity to further my ideas. I am already using my laptop for programming and designing robots and I feel even more inspired now to work towards becoming a designer.”
“I really enjoyed the competition,” added Candida Myers. “I particularly like science and thought the competition would be great experience for the future. One day I would like to see my invention in full working order.”
Qatar Science & Technology Park fosters the development and commercialisation of technology in Qatar, a rising star in the Arabian Gulf with the world’s third largest gas reserves and a remarkable vision for human development. As part of the renowned Qatar Foundation, founded by the country’s Emir, the science park is co-located with campuses of Carnegie Mellon, Cornell, Texas A&M and other premier universities. It provides research-friendly premises for companies from around the world, plus an incubator and investment for technology start-ups. Already EADS, ExxonMobil, GE, Microsoft, Rolls-Royce, Shell and Total have joined Qatar Science & Technology Park, and its first phase of buildings opens late 2007.
