The 2023 edition of the RE-NEW Our World Challenge saw Aliya Nujum Navaz, Sinchana Hiremath, and Abdulla and Hamad Saif Almazrouei, place first for their innovative solutions to world water issues.
The challenge encouraged students from schools around the UAE, to come up with new ideas to solve issues on the global water crisis and ways to manage it.
Open to students aged 8 to 18 years, the challenge was split into three categories including 8 to 11 years, 12 to 14 years, and 15 to 18 years. The work was judged based on relevance, potential, impact, feasibility, innovation and sustainability.
Aliya Nujum Navaz, a 13 year old student from Al Ain Juniors School in Abu Dhabi, won the challenge for the 12 to 14 years category, with her innovation called Aqua Fire Flyze, which uses drone technology to identify and target fires, avoiding the use of copious amounts of water to put them out.
With the help of AI-enabled drones equipped with sensors and thermal imaging, firefighters can pinpoint hotspots that should be prioritised. The drones carrying fire retardants can then be used to minimise the amount of water required and improve their performance and efficiency.
Sinchana Hiremath from GEMS Our Own English High School in Dubai won first place in the 15 to 18 years category, for the Microbeads Radar App, which helps detect plastic components in cosmetic and hygiene products, to avoid them from ending up in marine bodies.
The 8 to 11 years category saw brothers Abdulla and Hamad Saif Almazrouei from Ethen Primary School in Ras Al Khaimah winning for repurposing traditional Kumbar rope fibres from palm trees to enhance irrigation water efficiency.
The students were honoured during a ceremony held at SEE Institute in Dubai.