A showcase of applied learning, innovation, and entrepreneurship
UDST hosted its largest co-curricular event of the academic year, the annual UDST “Skills Day”. This event offers more than 50 different competitions and activities around campus - in Engineering Technology, Computing and Information Technology, Health Sciences, Business Management, and Academics - simulating a variety of real-world challenges that students will tackle in the workplace once they graduate. UDST “Skills Day” is an opportunity for students and faculty to showcase the projects they have been working on throughout the year and how learning at the University is all about building experiential and technological competencies required in the world of work.
More than 750 students competed against their peers to test the technical skills they are learning through their studies. Commenting on the event, Dr. Salem Al-Naemi, President of UDST said:
“Skills Day is all about the approach that UDST undertakes to reveal the importance of applied education. The way we support our students and empower them to be capable of using the latest technologies and have the right skills to answer the labor market’s needs. This event is an opportunity to demonstrate what our students have learned throughout their educational journey at the university and how they use their skills and hands-on competencies to innovate and harness technology to better serve the community.” He added: “We thank all our partners for supporting this event and for believing in the importance of advancing Technical and Vocational Education and Training (TVET) in Qatar. UDST has always relied on industry leaders to develop its programs and work on bridging the gap between Academia and Industry.”
UDST Skills Day included many interactive educational and fun activities and competitions such as: gear train designing challenge, welding, leak testing in the pipeline, network design and cabling, renewable energy and sustainability activities, testing technician safety, engaging in health scenarios and skills stations, cyber security challenges, internet of things, programming and problem-solving, robots’ races, green screen digital communication, egg drop stem challenge and much more.
UDST also partnered with local schools to offer hundreds of secondary students the chance to witness the competitions and try a skill themselves, giving more young people the opportunity to be involved in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM). Some competitions are completed individually, while others are group competitions where students in teams solve real-life scenarios and participate in business simulations in addition to challenges in the fields of electrical and mechanical engineering, energy and sustainability, cybersecurity, artificial intelligence, programming, problem-solving challenges, and health care as well as communication contests and debates.
The “Skills Competition” winners will be announced in a special ceremony that will be held on the 21st of March 2023 and will be awarded medals and recognition certificates. Through “Skills Day”, UDST works on engaging its community and the wider audience in experiencing the excitement of STEM and technical activities for themselves, while showcasing its state-of-the-art campus.
