DUBAI 20 November 2018: Two female university students from Dubai who created an app to test the purity of drinking water have received Dh25,000 from Huawei.
More than 50 contestants took part in the competition that was held in cooperation with the Telecommunications Regulatory Authority (TRA) under the auspices of the Ministry of Health to involve young people in innovation and environmental health management, said Arabic daily Al Bayan.
Metha Marzouki and Maha Tali, two students specializing in environmental health at the Canadian University in University Dubai, devised an effective and economical solution to a problem faced by a large number of people in developing countries. They were supported by Dr. Yassin Al Fatih, an assistant professor specializing in environmental biology.
Maha Tali said the development and implementation of the application made her “feel very happy, because I know it will help save the lives of others. More than 844 million people suffer from a lack of safe drinking water, which is supposed to be truly guaranteed to all. I invented this device to give back and appreciate the simple things that make a difference in our lives”.
The competition lasted for six months with the participation of 50 contestants from different educational institutions in the UAE. The team of the Canadian University of Dubai was able to reach the second stage, which involved 16 competitors. This number was eliminated to six teams in the third and final stage.
The final six contenders will move to the final stage of their journey using funding to implement their innovations and use them on the ground in poor areas of Africa, South America, the Middle East and elsewhere.