More than 300 local students and teachers participated in the Qur’anic Botanic Garden’s 2019-2020 Young Botanist and Food Security educational programmes, which – closing recently – helped young people devise solutions to some of Qatar’s most pressing challenges.
Jawhara Adel from Rafidah Bint Kaab Girls School said she enjoyed working on their project – their research was designing a model for water purification using the Moringa Oleifera plant – and hoped that there will be other similar competitions in the future.
Another student, Jabr Muhammad Al Dossari from Doha Secondary School for Boys, said the competition is excellent in its idea and content. He said that through the contests, he gained self-confidence, learned to communicate with the jury and express research ideas.
The 4th edition of the Young Botanist Research Contest, organised in collaboration with the Scientific Research Section of the Ministry of Education and Higher Education, was participated by over 150 students and teachers from nearly 40 schools in Qatar. The research posters were judged by a scientific arbitration committee during a research fair in February, and QBG will publish a book compiling the best research abstracts.
The top performing student projects in this year’s programme included Rafidah Bint Kaab Girls School with two projects coming in first and third place, respectively; Zaynab Preparatory Girls School in second place; and Doha Independent Secondary School for Boys in third place.
140 students from 24 schools participated in the QBG Food Security programme, which encourages modern agricultural practices. The Qatar Banking Studies and Business Administration Independent School for Girls took home first place; Shahhaniya Independent Secondary School for Boys won second place; and Al Dukhan Girls School was awarded third place.
QBG Project Director Fatima Saleh Al Khulaifi said that through education, QBG strives to support Qatari youth find practical solutions within scientific research, to address the food security and environmental challenges facing the country, given the climate conditions.
Well done to our tremendous group of students. Their efforts will ultimately support Qatar’s commitment to achieve global Sustainable Development Goals.
QBG – a member of Qatar Foundation – honoured the participants with trophies and certificates. The full list of winners and projects can be found on QBG’s social media channels – Instagram, Facebook, and Twitter.
Please note that the images used in this article were taken before lockdown was implemented in the country.