Palestine entry wins Intel engineering award

Palestine won two engineering awards Wednesday in the United Arab Emirates. The district of Sharjah hosted Palestine for the 2011 Intel Science and Engineering Fair Award, selecting two titles in the electronics-communications and energy-transporation categories. Palestine’s winning entries were a project on gas by Iman Qaraqe, a student from the Beit Jala UNRWA school near Bethlehem, and another on automobile performance by Tala Abuhlal and Abeer Rabee. Palestine will compete internationally in the US state of California in May, said presidential adviser for communications Sabri Saidam, who headed the delegation to the UAE. The achievement is significant for the Palestinian communications sector, he said of the award. It was handed out during the fair the last week of November in Sharjah, an emirate that borders Dubai. Amjad Masri, a representative of the Ministry of Education and Higher Education, said he was impressed that three Palestinian students were recognized out of some 1,500 student contestants. "The fact that Palestine reached this event among 56 other countries is evidence of Palestine’s advancements in science," Masri said in a statement. "It further translates the ministry’s constant efforts in developing the culture of uniqueness and innovation in Palestine that goes along with the ministry’s plan to improve the quality of education."