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A month to innovate future

Abu Dhabi - The month-long celebration of innovation, meant to promote a culture of inventiveness and creative thinking, was inaugurated on February 1.

Innovation-focused activities and workshops are being staged across the UAE, with each of the seven emirates running its own agenda of events and mini-festivals to mark the UAE Innovation Month 2018.
The month-long celebration of innovation, meant to promote a culture of inventiveness and creative thinking among Emiratis and residents across the UAE, was inaugurated in Abu Dhabi on February 1. 
Organised by the Mohammed Bin Rashid Centre for Government Innovation (MBRCGI), the Innovation Month seeks to foster innovation with more than 1,000 activities across the nation throughout the month of February. From parks displaying creative inventions throughout various cities to a Google Innovation Hub launch, and more, the initiative is holding key events and competitions to showcase leading ideas and innovators across the UAE.
This year, the national event kicked off from the Abu Dhabi Corniche and will move to Ras Al Khaimah and Fujairah in the second week. The events will further move on to Sharjah, Ajman and Umm Al Quwain in the third week and will end in Dubai.
In Abu Dhabi, the festival was held alongside the annual Abu Dhabi Science Festival and Innovator 2018, an annual exhibition and competition that was open to local inventors of all ages wishing to showcase their unique projects. Both activities were organised by the Department of Education and Knowledge (Adek). Students actively participated in dedicated morning sessions, workshops, programs and activities held on the Abu Dhabi Corniche from February1-7. Both events witnessed strong attendance and participation of Abu Dhabi schools, according to Adek.
During the inauguration of the festival, Sheikh Sultan bin Tahnoon Al Nahyan, Member of the Executive Council, said: "The UAE Innovation Month has become one of the most important global initiatives supporting creativity and innovation, highlighting the key role it is playing in reinforcing the UAE's position on the global map. All these efforts in global indices will help place the UAE among the top ten countries in the Global Innovation Index, as we celebrate the golden jubilee of the Emirates Union."
Sanad Humaid Ahmed, deputy chairman of the innovation committee at Adek, said: "Innovator 2018 was held in parallel with the Abu Dhabi Science Festival to showcase strategic innovative ideas and creative projects. The activities were based on interactive experiments with new inventions, various workshops and live shows in multiple fields.
"We look forward to nurturing our future generations by shedding light on our Emirati community's talented visionaries and their unique creations. Our objective is to encourage our school students' innovations, to help them discover hidden skills and embark on the fast-paced technology bandwagon to secure a better and brighter future," said Sanad.
Adek's Innovation Club presented a range of innovations including "Formula 1", "Laser Cutting", 3"D Printer", "Football Robot", and a variety of inventions from across the nation including "Virtual Garden", "Palm Robot" (Robotics), Health Monitor", "Laser Drill" and many others.
The Innovator 2018 initiative also involved a variety of workshops that highlighted diverse creative areas, including the "Hydraulic Key" workshop, an advanced project for children interested in electric circuits, and the "Nutty Car" workshop that inspires students to create their own cars using the recyclable material. Furthermore, the event witnessed the introduction of "Playing with Polymer" workshop, a peculiar fun and messy platform allowing kids to explore a materials usage and aspects in an interactive way. 
Over 100 innovators, 25 innovative projects from government and private organisations and 27 science workshops participated in the Abu Dhabi innovation event.
Organisers said the innovation projects have five categories - automotives, robotic, air space, green energy and art - and the five winning projects were given awards.
ismail@khaleejtimes.com