A student interacts with a robot at a technical exhibition in Gaza City, June 20, 2023. (Photo by Rizek Abdeljawad/Xinhua)
In an effort to make daily life easier and safer through technology, 250 Palestinian students gathered on Tuesday at a technical exhibition in Gaza to present their innovative projects.
The expo, titled "Elite's Expo - Students from the Future," was organized by Al-Motamayzoun Modern School in Gaza for the second year in a row.
"We launched this technical exhibition to encourage our students to present their innovative projects to the local community," Mahmoud Saad, one of the event organizers, told Xinhua.
Students try on an installation at a technical exhibition in Gaza City, June 20, 2023. (Photo by Rizek Abdeljawad/Xinhua)
The expo showcased 80 projects that utilized modern means of artificial intelligence, website programming, robots, health games, and other innovative technologies to address challenges in the environment, public health, and other areas affecting daily life.
"This year begins with crises that compounded the suffering of Palestinian people. To try to solve some of them, the students start researching with models that simulate the existing problems and striving to address them using modern scientific means," Saad said.
Sami Khader, a fifth-grade participant, brought to the exhibition a project called "Aeroponic Farming," which centered on farming problems in Gaza.
Students watch an installation at a technical exhibition in Gaza City, June 20, 2023. (Photo by Rizek Abdeljawad/Xinhua)
"Because of dense population and urban expansion in the Gaza Strip, the agricultural lands in our region have shrunk, causing a decrease in agricultural production," the 11-year-old student said.
What's worse, Khader added, is the high salinity of the water, which could kill or spoil crops, making them unfit to eat.
To solve the problem, Khader's team proposed growing plants in an aerobic environment without soil, which could save 98% of the water used in irrigation and ensure the quality and safety of agricultural products.
At the expo, Zina Harb, also a fifth grader, was presenting his three-member team's project called "Smart Whiteboard Cleaner," which provided a "smart" solution for erasing whiteboards.
The whiteboard is equipped with an "automatic cleaner" run by a small generator, and "each teacher will be given a radio-frequency identification card to control the cleaner to wipe the whiteboard, making erasing work more efficient and convenient in classes," the teenager introduced.
Both teams hope to start their own companies in the future to produce and promote technical products to help people live an easier, cleaner, and safer life.
Speaking to Xinhua, Reem Awad, a Gaza-based chemistry teacher, said she is very happy to visit such an event, because "it showcases diverse talents and energies of Gazan children in the science and technology field."
The 36-year-old mother of three added that "it is good for schools to pay attention to the scientific development of students, so as to qualify them as useful persons to the society in the future."
