The second Qatar Science, Technology, Engineering, Math and Art Fair (Qatar Steam), organised by Qatar Foundation Research & Development (QF R&D), will take place at Qatar National Convention Centre from March 8 to 10, 2016.
At the close of registration on November 15, 220 projects from 42 secondary schools had registered to participate in the nationwide competition. A total of 401 entrants, 65% of whom are Qataris, will compete in the fair, the organisers have said in a statement.
The fair is being held in collaboration with Qatar National Research Fund, a scientific research funding organisation and member of QF R&D, and the Supreme Education Council.
The participating teams or individuals will present their projects to a judging panel over the course of the competition.
The eight project categories are computing, biomedicine, mathematics & physics, basic sciences, engineering, chemistry, energy and behavioural & social sciences.
During the build-up to the competition, project assistance will be made available to students and teachers.
Through the Mentor Programme, the students and teachers will be assigned an expert to assist in the execution of their projects. In addition, information sessions and workshops will be held to offer project support.
Dr Hamad al-Ibrahim, executive vice-president of research and development at Qatar Foundation, said: “The inaugural Qatar Steam Fair was a tremendous success and we continue to build on that success. The number of teams that have entered to participate in the second fair indicates a growing interest in scientific research among the country’s youth.”
The eight winning teams from the inaugural fair, held in March this year, are set to represent Qatar at the sixth Intel International Science Competition Arab World taking place in Alexandria, Egypt, from December 17 to 19.
The Qatari team will compete in the computing, energy, chemistry and behavioural & social sciences categories.