The Emirates Foundation and Siemens LLC, the local affiliate of the global powerhouse in electronics and electrical engineering, have concluded a cooperation agreement aimed to support science education throughout the UAE.

The agreement was signed at the Foundation's headquarters in Abu Dhabi in the presence of Clare Woodcraft, CEO of the Emirates Foundation, and Joachim Kundt, CEO of Siemens UAE.

As per the agreement, Siemens will provide support for the upcoming Emirates Foundation's project 'Emirates Science Fair Competition' that will be hosted in collaboration with the Abu Dhabi Education Council. Representatives from the company will also participate on the committee to assess students' projects in the upcoming round of the science fair. The project is tailored to challenge talented Emirati youth students and stimulate their potential to innovate and design models of community-supporting technologies.

"Signing this agreement is consistent with the Foundation's efforts to develop mechanisms of joint cooperation between the public and private sectors in the country to support the research and scientific development. This is in accordance with the ambitious vision of the Abu Dhabi Education Council aimed at raising the volume of expenditure on this vital sector to reach Dhs4.9bn by 2018, which equals 0.75% of the GDP of the emirate of Abu Dhabi," said Clare Woodcraft, CEO of the Emirates Foundation.

She added that the project seeks to support talented students and develop their skills and capabilities, explore their potential and stimulate them to work as teams in science competitions and local or regional exhibitions. 

It is also tailored to get private organizations involved in next generation development programs, promoting the major skill sets needed to build future projects with societal benefit as well as encourage their choice of future careers in science, technology and environment.

"This project is especially important as it is designed to build Emirati youth's scientific competences and, most importantly, establish a knowledge-base that will help develop and support the future of science and technology throughout the UAE," she added.

The Foundation intends to invite UAE high schools to compete in what is now the third round for this project, which will take place during the 2012/2013 academic year. 

Woodcraft expressed her thanks and appreciation to Siemens for its role in supporting this project, emphasizing the Foundation's long-term strategy to build partnerships with the private sector in a way that will help promote the development of young people in UAE.

Joachim Kundt, CEO of Siemens UAE, noted the social and scientific value of this project which motivated the company to enter into this partnership with the Emirates Foundation, and said: "Siemens is strongly committed to encouraging science and technology education for our next generations. As a company of advanced technologies, we strongly believe in the importance of sharing our knowledge. But more important is the need to be able to grow innovation and expertise from within a culture. We cannot do this without a strong base of sciences in our future workforce." 

Emirates Foundation has organized two previous science fairs. The first one was in 2010, and the second in the 2011 academic year involving 550 students from 53 schools in Abu Dhabi. 

During the two exhibitions, 200 science projects were on display and ten of them were qualified to compete at the 2nd Annual Intel Science Competition - Arab World 2011. 

Three of the participating projects were recognized among the best projects and the winning students were awarded scholarships at the University of Sharjah. 

Additionally, eleven of the second round's projects were invited to be exhibited at the 2012 edition of the World Future Energy Summit (WFES), held at Abu Dhabi National Exhibition Center during January 16-19. 

The participation was a valuable opportunity for 18 students to present their energy-related projects to world leaders, policy makers and academics gathered to address challenges facing development of sustainable energy efficiency.