The College of Engineering at National University of Science and Technology held its fourth inter-collegiate technical festival, TechFest, on 2nd and 3rd of May 2023, under the patronage of honorable Dr. Ali Bin Saud Al Bimani, Vice Chancellor of National University. TechFest provides a platform for students to exhibit their technical skills, knowledge, and awareness, thus, facilitating opportunities for networking, sharing and gaining technical experience and prowess.
The event hosted four competitions, a project expo on the theme “Best Societal impact project”, A technical paper contest, a short video contest and a technical quiz for school students. Seven schools and eight higher education institutions participated in the events.
The inauguration of the TechFest was graced by Dr.Ali Al Bimani, Honorable Vice Chancellor of National University. The projects and technical papers were assessed by expert judges from industry based on the relevance and alignment to Oman vision 2040, Industry 4.0 technology usage, and usefulness for the society. This year NU TechFest has also introduced a new competition called “5-Minutes Video Contest” to encourage students to capture social issues related to the 17 UN SDGs and Oman Vision 2040.The College of Engineering at National University also organized a technical quiz competition for school students of Grade 11 and 12. The quiz focused on general knowledge, science and sports. A total of 19 projects, 10 technical papers and videos were presented at the event, and 24 contestants participated in the final rounds of technical quiz.
The closing ceremony for NU TechFest 2023 was held on 3rd May 2023. In the welcome address by Dr. Ahmed Al Bulushi, Dean of College of Engineering, the Dean expressed his immense pride and joy for a successful events. Among the contestant from schools, the Dohat Al Adab School, won the first prize for the Best Societal Impact project. Madinat Al Sultan Qaboos School bagged the second place.
Among the contestants from higher education institutions, the project on “Smart Gas Regulator” from National University secured the first place and the project on “Feasibility Studies for Exploring and Utilizing Bio-hydrogen Using Green Micro-Algae” secured the second place. In the technical paper contest, the students from Sultan Qaboos University emerged the winners and in the technical quiz competition for School students, the Moosa bin Naseer School bagged the first prize and Madinat Sultan Qaboos bagged the second prize.
In the 5-Minutes Video Contest, the contestants from Sultan Qaboos University won the first place for their video on “Treated Wastewater for growing crops using Hydroponics, Aquaponics, and Aeroponics technology” and the contestants from the National University won the second place for their video on “Powering a Sustainable Future”.
Dr. Ali Al Bimani distributed the trophies and certificates to the winners and participants. The event ended with a vote of thanks by Professor Vallavaraj, Assistant Dean of College of Engineering.
