DOHA, Qatar, November 14, 2015 /PRNewswire/ --
Arab World to Vote for Region's Best Innovator
Innovators Omar Hamid of Egypt and Mourad Mohamed Benosman of Algeria cleared the final hurdle in their quest to become Stars of Science finalists on MBC4, beating Palestine's Nadim Rifai in a captivating design episode. Omar's near-perfect prototype earned him universal praise and a remarkably high score, while the simple effectiveness of Mourad's device helped him secure the last finalist spot over Nadim.
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For Omar and Mourad, a showdown with their fellow finalists Hassan Albalawi of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and Yaman Abou Jieb of Syria lies ahead. In the live final, which will air next Friday, November 20, at 7PM KSA/ 4PM GMT on MBC4, the finalists will be ranked by jury deliberation and voting from the Arab world, with a share of USD600,000 on the line.
Stars of Science is the Qatar Foundation for Education, Science and Community Development's popular "edutainment reality" TV program airing on MBC4. The program has seen young innovators compete against each other to turn their creative ideas into reality and is part of QF's mission to encourage Arab youth to reach their potential while fostering and providing a platform to facilitate success.
Over the course of 10 prime time episodes and accompanying daily episodes, audiences have seen 12 of the best innovators from across the Arab world turn their ideas into working prototypes. Candidates are gradually eliminated in competitive stages as they work with world-class engineering and design specialists in Doha at Qatar Science & Technology Park (QSTP), a member of QF.
Friday's episode was the penultimate step in the remaining candidates' innovation journey. The young adults were challenged to enhance their device into a user-friendly, attractive product. In an effort to avoid being defeated and sent home packing, Omar, Mourad, and Nadim worked harder than ever, spending many long nights in Qatar Foundation's QSTP labs in preparation for the jury presentation.
Stars of Science's expert jury was made up of permanent jurors Mr. Yussif Abdulrahman Saleh, General Manager of Qatar Shell Research and Technology Center, and Professor Fouad Mrad, Executive Director of the United Nations ESCWA regional technology center. They were joined by VIP juror James Law, a visionary designer who founded James Law Cybertecture International, an innovative architectural firm.
First to face the jury was Nadim, who proudly presented his Rewarding Behavior Treadmill app and sensor, named "Fittastic." In describing how the device rewards beginner athletes and fitness fanatics alike by integrating gameplay and exercise, Nadim elaborated on how his invention would positively impact public health. But he faced tough questioning from jurors, who were skeptical whether or not the design of his app would catch on with the general public.
Next up was Mourad, inventor of "Digiheart," the ECG Wearable Stress Analyzer that improves health diagnostics by distinguishing between physical and mental stress. The Algerian impressed jurors by demonstrating how his design complements the simplicity and efficiency of the device. James Law, however, saw weakness in the fact that "Digiheart" had a bulky design. Mr. Law suggested a bulky device designed to be worn under clothes might be unsightly, leaving a risk that fashion-conscious potential customers would be put off.
Lastly, Omar unveiled his new and improved Prayer Chair, which he called "Sanda." The device, which offers assistive sitting and standing to worshippers in a mosque with physical disabilities, was lauded by Professor Mrad, Mr. Law, and Mr. Saleh alike. The engaging Omar was skillful and poised as he described the challenge of designing "Sanda" to be intuitive and functional.
The candidates' industrial design skills accounted for 50 percent of the score. Product marketability made up an additional 30 percent, and the candidates' leadership and resourcefulness counted for 20 percent.
"Sanda" earned Omar the highest score of the day by far, 92 out of 100. In the race for second, Mourad and his "Digiheart" prototype beat Nadim and his "Fittastic," guaranteeing the Algerian's inclusion in the final four.
"We have developed our skills as entrepreneurs, engineers, designers and teammates immeasurably since we arrived at QSTP," said Omar after the episode. "No matter the outcome of the upcoming final episode, I believe that we have gained invaluable experience because of Stars of Science."
"After months of work and many nervous elimination episodes, it is now up to the Arab world to decide how to rank us in the finale," said Mourad. "I want to make my family and country proud by taking the Stars of Science title home to Algeria."
Season Seven of Stars of Science culminates in a special live final episode on MBC4 on Friday, November 20, 2015 at 7PM KSA/ 4PM GMT. Viewers from across the Arab world will vote to help choose the next great Arab innovator in the finale, which will be hosted by Khaled Al Jumaily. Further details on the votingare available on
Arabic
http://www.starsofscience.com/arabic/vote-now
English
http://www.starsofscience.com/english/vote-now
Please visit:
Website - http://www.starsofscience.com
Facebook - https://www.facebook.com/StarsOfScienceTV
Twitter - https://twitter.com/starsofscience
YouTube - https://www.youtube.com/user/StarsOfScienceTV
Instagram - https://instagram.com/starsofsciencetv/
Stars of Science
Stars of Science, an "edutainment reality" TV format initiated by Qatar Foundation, is the region's leading innovation program. Stars of Science fosters and advances the Arab world's aspiring science and technology entrepreneurs. In this seventh season, 12 candidates are challenged to prove their resourcefulness during critical stages of the innovation cycle while collaborating with industry leading mentors. An expert panel of jurors assesses and eliminates candidates and their innovative products in Engineering and Design episodes until only four remain.These four finalists vie for a share of a $600,000 prize, determined by a jury deliberation and voting from the public.
Stars of Science airs from Friday, September 18th, to Friday, November 20th, 2015 on MBC4.
Qatar Foundation - Unlocking Human Potential
Qatar Foundation for Education, Science, and Community Development (QF) is a private, non-profit organization that is supporting Qatar on its journey from a carbon economy to knowledge economy by unlocking human potential, for the benefit of not only Qatar, but the world.Founded in 1995 by His Highness Sheikh Hamad bin Khalifa Al Thani, the Father Emir, QF is chaired by Her Highness Sheikha Moza bint Nasser.
QF's work encompasses education, research and community development.World-class universities are brought to Qatar to help create an education sector in which young people can develop the attitudes and skills required for a knowledge economy. At the same time, QF builds Qatar's innovation and technology capacity by developing and commercializing solutions through key sciences.The Foundation also works to foster a progressive society while enhancing cultural life, protecting Qatar's heritage and addressing immediate social needs in the community.
About MBC Group
MBC Group (Middle East Broadcasting Center) is the largest and leading private media company in the Middle East & North Africa region. For the past 23 years, MBC Group was able to enrich people's lives through information, interaction and entertainment. In 2002, nearly a decade after the launch of MBC1 in London, back in 1991, and as the 1st private free-to-air Arab satellite TV channel, MBC Group moved its headquarters to Dubai Media City, United Arab Emirates, where it remains.
Today, MBC Group includes 20 TV channels: MBC1 (general family entertainment); MBC2 and MBC MAX (24-hour western movies); MBC3 (children's edutainment with a mix of both local productions and western acquisitions); MBC4 (entertainment for young families with a female-focus); MBC Action (an indigenous adrenaline-packed channel targeting young males with local and homegrown productions); MBC Variety (Western films and general entertainment with uninterrupted broadcasting); Al Arabiya News Channel (the 24-hour Arabic language news channel); Al Hadath (an extension of Al Arabiya News Channel with a specific focus on real events in the Arab world and beyond); Wanasah (24-hour Arabic music channel); MBC DRAMA (24/7 Arabic drama); MBC MASR (general family entertainment geared towards the Egyptian family); MBC MASR 2 (providing the Egyptian audience with superior quality entertainment, in addition to live coverage of some of the Egyptian league's football matches); MBC + Drama (a joint paid-for channel between MBC and OSN); MBC Bollywood (delivering the freshest in Bollywood content geared towards the region via an Arabized interface); and most recently four sports channels, MBC PRO SPORTS (geared towards the "Saudi Football Premier League" fans in the Kingdom); and MBC USA (the channel is present on "Dish Network" in the US, and targets Arab audiences abroad; the channel is dedicated to offer and broadcast a wide range of content from the prominent MBC channels including movies, series and global formats).
In July 2011, seven channels within MBC Group began to broadcast in HD across the MENA Region: MBC1 HD, MBC2 HD, MBC4 HD, MBC Action HD, MBC Drama HD, MBC Max HD and Al Arabiya HD. In 2013, MBC3 HD joined the collection of HD channels followed by MBC Variety HD in 2014.
MBC Group also includes two FM radio stations: MBC FM (Gulf music) and Panorama FM (contemporary Arabic hit music); as well as O3 Productions, a premium content drama production company. Furthermore, MBC Group includes online platforms: http://www.mbc.net, http://www.alarabiya.net, http://www.shahid.net (the first free VOD and catch-up portal in the Arab world) and http://www.actionha.net, and http://www.mbcprosports.net among others.
(Photo: http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20151113/287200 )
Video:
http://www.multivu.com/players/uk/7688451-stars-of-science-omar-mourad-showdown/
