Bahrain hosts International Science and Technology Initiative

TDT | Manama                      

The Daily Tribune – www.newsofbahrain.com   

Riffa Views International School (RVIS) hosted Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT)'s International Science and Technology Initiative (MISTI) in its innovation center LEVEL 5.

The workshop is co-sponsored with the US embassy and was the first of its kind in the GCC.

The program was initiated and co-founded by three graduate MIT Bahraini students, Marwa Al Alawi (MIT Mechanical Engineering, PhD), Maryam Al Jomairi (Doctoral Candidate at Harvard and Fulbright alumna), and Latifa Al Khayat (Graduate student at MIT Architecture) as a way to enrich Bahrain’s scientific and educational communities by promoting cultural and scientific exchange between Bahraini educational institutions, faculty and students with MIT, and formulate a multidisciplinary model of education and practice.

With the guidance of four MIT instructors, Kristan Hilby, Masarah Abdulhussein, Maxwell Yun, and Ngima Hyolmo, and the supervision of LEVEL 5’s manager, Zahi Wehbe, 20 high school students from RVIS and three other private schools in Bahrain engaged in a wide-variety of engineering and innovative practices that allowed participants to develop essential field related skills including 3D digital modeling, rapid prototyping using specialized fabrication tools such as 3D printers and laser engravers.

These skills were then applied to the field of robotics, where students programmed and built robots that were able to distinguish between colors, grasp objects, and launch projectiles.

"We introduced the students to a wide-variety of engineering and robotics tasks designed to challenge their thinking and problem solving skills.

The determination and energy they brought to each project has deepened my passion for teaching,"Kristan Hilby, a fourth year PhD student and one of four MIT instructors at the workshop, said.

The MIT instructors will move their workshop to the American University of Bahrain (AUB), where they will run a similar workshop for university and government school students in Bahrain. They will also administer a two-day workshop for students via the Ministry of Youth Affairs.