Qatar will soon have a mobile laboratory that will bring real-life STEM experiences to students and educators. The mobile facility, first of its kind in the region, is a joint effort of Qatar University (QU), Ministry of Education and Higher Education (MEHE), Mowasalat, and Dolphin Energy Limited. An agreement to establish the facility was signed yesterday by Dr Hassan Al Derham, QU President, Rabea Mohamed Al Kaabi, MEHE Undersecretary, Khalid Nasser Al Hail, Mowasalat Managing Director Mr, and Hassan Al Emadi, General Manager, Dolphin Energy Limited- Qatar.
The agreement aimed to establish a STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Math) on wheels project through the development of a STEMlaboratory mobile bus that provides schools in Qatar with STEMtechnology. The mobile laboratory will bring real-life and daily STEMexperiences to students and educators.
Mowasalat will provide a bus, while Dolphin Energy Limited will sponsor the refurbishment of the bus interior and the provision of technological equipment. MEHE will create a comprehensive plan for the bus trips to schools, including those in rural areas. QU engineering students will design the bus interior and provide technological applications and equipment.
The event included the signing of another MoU between Qatar Transportation and Traffic Safety Center (QTTSC) at QU College of Engineering (CENG) and Mowasalat to establish collaboration on new research and consulting programmes used for studies on traffic safety in Qatar. As part of this agreement, Mowasalat’s Karwa Driving School will offer exclusive and various training programmes accredited and certified by global institutions. Karwa Driving School will also provide information and statistics to support the projects while QTTSC will handle the projects.
“The STEMon wheels project is the first of its kind in Qatar and the region. This STEMmobile laboratory contributes to motivate students and encourage them to explore out-of-the-classroom Steme xperiences through a contemporary learning approach that adopts new applications and that serves the school curriculum. QU is proud to be part of this state-of-the-art project that will promote quality education within high schools in Qatar, while reinforcing relations between the partnering institutions. This is a testament of QU’s commitment to strengthen collaborations between academia and industry in Qatar,” Dr Al Derham said.
