Khalifa University Organizes Mobile Application Competition 2010

Sponsored by Telecommunications Regulatory Authority (TRA), Khalifa Fund and Emirates Advanced Investments.

Khalifa University of Science, Technology and Research (KUSTAR) hosted its fifth annual Mobile Application Contest (MAC) at the Park Rotana Hotel, Abu Dhabi. Students from nine universities across the UAE and the region participated in this year’s competition and displayed 15 innovative projects in the Mobile phone applications field.

This year’s competition showcased a heightened level of technical development among participants. Four application projects won first place, presented by students from Abu Dhabi University, Khalifa University and Zayed University, and which were critiqued under the supervision of a committee of judges. The committee was chaired by telecommunications Engineer, Mr. Saif Bin Ghelaita from the Telecommunications Regulatory Authority (TRA); Mr. Yousuf Al Askar and Mr. Hamad Al Hosany from Etisalat; Dr. Wathiq Mansour from American University of Dubai (AUD) and; Mr. Mohamed Al Ramsi from the TRA.

The awards ceremony was attended by a number of dignitaries and guests, including His Excellency Professor Maw-Kuen Wu, member of the Board of Trustees of Khalifa University; H.E. Mohamed Al Ghanim, the General Director of TRA; Mr. Fadi Samara, Executive Director of Operations at Emirates Advanced Investments and; Mr. Nizar Cheniour, Director of Development and Training of Entrepreneurs at the Khalifa Fund for Enterprise Development.

The project that placed first, dealt with the calculation of the risk level resulting from using a mobile phone while driving. This was done by measuring the speed of the car using GPS technology and the intensity of the phone usage, whether through calls or SMS messages, and alerting the driver to the extent of the potential risk. The second place project showcased an application that allows a person to remotely control PowerPoint Slides while making a presentation, by calculating the velocities of different signs and gestures of the human body.

The project which placed third was an application to communicate by Arabic sign language. This application enables users with hearing disabilities to communicate with each other or with regular people by translating the text entered into the phone as text messages to short Arabic sign language.

The fourth place winner was an application for Blackberry named “Maza”, which provides Zayed University students easier access to the various e-services provided by the university.

In his address to the audience, KUSTAR’s Interim President, Dr. Arif Sultan Al Hammadi said: "I would like to congratulate the winning students in this year’s exciting competition. The standard of the applications entered reflects the significant progress made by UAE university students, which in turn reveals the evolution of higher education in the UAE. We at Khalifa University support such competitions that nurture the students’ creativity and their scientific knowledge. Being given access to the latest scientific development and stimulating the constructive spirit of competition are the basic skills for their future scientific careers which this initiative stands for.”

He added: "I would like to emphasize Khalifa University’s commitment towards the higher education sector in the UAE, which has become the regional center for research and innovation. In addition, we are dedicated to providing superior training programs, advanced technologies, resources and developed tools to create a new generation of knowledgeable and well-equipped human capital.”

The Khalifa Fund for Enterprise Development presented four cash prizes totaling AED 50,000. The first, second, third and fourth prize winners received AED 20,000, AED 15,000, AED 10,000 and AED 5,000 respectively.

Dr. Ahmed Khalil Al Mutawa, Executive Chairman of the Khalifa Fund for Enterprise Development, said: “The Khalifa Fund’s sponsorship of this contest comes in line with our commitment to support and encourage the spirit of innovation and creativity of the UAE’s different National segments.

Dr. Al-Mutawa stressed that the Khalifa Fund will continue to support such activities and cooperate with various universities in Abu Dhabi to develop student skill sets and creativity to then transfer it to viable business ideas to serve the national economy.

Dr. Al-Mutawa announced that Khalifa Fund is ready to further support the winners’ ideas and applications, and work with their owners to develop them into investment activities, alongside the Fund’s specialist consultant team. Dr. Al-Mutawa highlighted the possibility of providing funding to those ideas which are compliant with the Fund’s policies and which meet the requirements of funding programs.

The Mobile Application Contest provides an excellent opportunity for students majoring in Communication Engineering, Computer Engineering, Computer Science, and Telecommunications to showcase their skills in the development of mobile applications. The competition also provides an excellent opportunity for students from within the UAE to interact with each other.
 

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