Business & Money | Sunday 15 October, 2017 11:40 am |

Yahsat, the UAE-based satellite operator, and Dubai World Trade Centre (DWTC), hosted the Student Lab award ceremony held on the 12th October at GITEX, to announce the top three winners. The first prize winner, announced on Thursday by Muna Almheiri, Yahsat’s Chief Human Capital Officer, is Sarthak Sethi, a young Indian student entrepreneur, who received a cash prize of AED 50,000 for winning the competition. Yahsat will provide the winner with an all expenses paid trip to Kourou in French Guiana, to attend the launch of Al Yah 3. The winning project was a revolutionary device called ThumbFi that aims to simplify control of various devices by literally bringing control to the fingertips. ThumbFi eliminates the need to use multiple remote controls to control lights, fans, TVs, cars, mobile phones and other Bluetooth-enabled devices, placing them conveniently into one simple app.

 

Sarthak Sethi said: “I would like to thank the panel for picking me as the winner of this year’s Student Lab competition. I really feel honoured that out of 65 submissions, my project has been awarded the first prize. I would like to thank all sponsors of the Student Lab competition, and in particular Yahsat for being so generous to invite me to attend the launch of Al Yah 3 in Kourou, which I am very excited about. Today marks a significant milestone in my personal life and professional career, and my motivation is stronger than ever to drive further change in the ICT sector’’.

 

The second cash prize of AED 40,000 has been awarded to a young group of Emirati women, Nouf Fadel Alsaedi, Fatima Hareb Alneyadi, and Mouza Nasser Alahbabi, who created a smart robotic arm. The product is designed with the aim of assisting post-stroke patients with their recovery and to help enhance their ability to perform their usual daily activities.

 

Fatima Ahmed Alshaali, a young Emirati lady is the proud third winner, receiving a cash prize of AED 30,000 for designing and developing a one-of-a-kind iOS game. The Silent Fairy game is supported on both iPad and iPhone.

 

The Student Lab competition is designed to give an opportunity to students from UAE, and across the world, to present their innovative ICT solutions to a VIP expert panel. The purpose of the Student Lab is to recognise and promote innovation and creativity among students in the fields of communications technology, engineering, science and computing.

 

Muna Almheiri, Chief Human Capital Officer at Yahsat, said: “Today, we are proud to see how many eager students have submitted projects full of creativity and innovation. We, at Yahsat, are thrilled with today’s results and would like to congratulate all three winners for submitting projects with outstanding ideas. The judges were convinced by the ideas and saw potential in each winner. We are extremely excited to be inviting Sarthak Sethi to attend the launch of our third satellite, Al Yah 3’’.

 

‘’Human Capital is the most valuable asset at Yahsat and we will continue to look for ways to invest in young talent, therefore we would like to welcome all three winners to complete an internship at Yahsat to further develop their skills and shadow experienced Emirati and international engineers and ICT professionals’’, added Muna.

 

The committee has received over 65 submissions, from across the world, including the UAE, USA, Germany and India. In total, 24 projects were shortlisted by a committee comprising high-profile industry leaders, associations and partners and invited to present their projects to technology leaders and professionals at the Student Lab showcase area.