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Moving cars can 'light up' Dubai roads

Dubai - The energy project by the grade 8 students at GEMS Founders School was meant to reflect mobility, sustainability and opportunity, which are the three themes of the expo.

A group of students have unveiled an invention where vehicles on Dubai's busy Sheikh Zayed Road can power all of the street lights on the roads, ultimately conserving energy and eliminating solar panel costs.
The invention was being showcased at the Knowledge and Human Development Authority's (KHDA) 'What Works' forum, where Dubai Expo 2020 leaders and educators gathered to discuss the importance of the expo themes within the education industry and how it can be implemented into school curriculums. 
The energy project by the grade 8 students at GEMS Founders School was meant to reflect mobility, sustainability and opportunity, which are the three themes of the expo.
The invention, called Light Up, by students Mohammed Abdus Samad Khan, Kavya Subramanian and Salmaan Akhtar, involves a small, circular, object with metallic coating that can trap electrical charge from the pressure of moving cars. Then, it transfers the energy to the street lights. Khan said a multiple amount of the objects would have to be installed under the road for it to trap enough energy to power street lights.
"Thousands of cars move on Sheikh Zayed Road, so, just imagine all of the energy that is being produced by them. This energy shouldn't be wasted. It can be stored and used to power things, such as street lights," Khan told Khaleej Times. "The reason we are pitching the idea for Sheikh Zayed Road first is because of the high volume of car movement on it and a large number of street lights there. I think we can conserve energy and save solar panel costs if we use this invention."
Khan believes that Light Up can also be used in third world countries, where street lights are not available. He said their invention is cost-effective and easy to install, saving time, money and resources.
The team created the project in line with the three themes of the expo, meaning that Light Up creates an opportunity for countries and citizens, offers sustainability in terms of conserving energy and provides mobility.
Besides the invention, teachers at the forum also shed light on how they were integrating the themes of the expo within their school's curriculum.
The innovation leader at Gems Wellington International School, Katie Smithers, said her school has recently implemented a 'Creative Curriculum', where students learn skills that are centred around the three themes of the expo. 
"The themes of the expo are just very relevant to where the country is going and relevant to the students today. The world's evolving, so we need to make sure the curriculum is evolving with it. Those things of opportunity, mobility and sustainability are three of the areas that are really evolving in the world. So, it's just making it relevant," Smithers said. 
sarwat@khaleejtimes.com