A total of 12 male and female students at Umm Al-Qura University, who participated remotely in the International Exhibition of Inventions in Geneva 2021 organized by the World Intellectual Property Organization from 10 10–14 of March, won twelve gold, silver and bronze medals.

The UQU President, Prof. Moaddi bin Muhammad Aal Madh-hab, congratulated the students for this achievement and wished them success and progress. He also appreciated the support and care accorded by the wise leadership, may Allah support it, to the educational process. This enables the UQU students to make distinguished academic achievements at the regional and international levels.

The UQU President commended the support of His Excellency the Minister of Education, Dr. Hamad bin Muhammad Aal Al-Sheikh, and His Excellency the Deputy of the Minister for Universities, Research, and Innovation, Dr. Muhammad Al-Sudairi, for the university’s activities and extracurricular programs, which promote a culture of innovation and, in turn, contribute to refining the students’ talents as well as the educational programs they receive.

The UQU Vice President for Educational Affairs, Dr. Amer Al-Zaidi, congratulated the students who achieved these awards, noting that the UQU Vice Presidency for Educational Affairs, in coordination with their counterparts from other vice deanships, colleges and supporting deanships, will promote extracurricular and applied programs that foster a culture of innovation.

The Dean of Student Affairs, Dr. Omar Sonbol, said that the students who were nominated to participate with their innovative work in the International Exhibition of Inventions in Geneva 2021 competed with other UQU students in two stages within the “Ibtakir” competition. Moreover, he explained that out of the 80 male and female students who participated, only 12 students were chosen, who all received medals at the Geneva Fair.

Gold medal

The student Amjad Al-Buqami won the gold medal at the Geneva Fair 2021 for her innovation, “The Smart Guide Stick”, which is an electronic stick for the visually impaired. It is equipped with GPS and can be used by the visually impaired to help them reach their destinations.

The student Ziyad Ahmad Abdul-Mateen won the gold medal for his innovation, “The Wonderful Gloves”. It is a pair of gloves that translate sign language into audio language, which is broadcast via the innovative glove-based speaker to improve communication with people with hearing impairment.

Silver medal

The student Ali Al-Barakati won the silver medal for his invention, “The Smart Heater”, and so did the student Samar Al-Juhani for the invention of a control system that prevents fires in electrical wiring.

Moreover, the student Dalia Abu Rayya won the silver medal in the medical field for her invention, “The Medical Self-Service”, which is a medical device used to dispense monthly medicines to save patients’ time and effort. Medicines are dispensed through a barcode according to the prescription, which is read through the medical self-service machine.

The students Khalil Filimban and Khalil Maiajan won the silver medal for their project, “Mobile Anti-Sunstroke Unit”. The project represents a kit that helps provide emergency medical care for sunstroke injuries in order to avoid dangerous complications. The kit contains a water spray that helps cool and moisturize the body to avoid complications from sunstroke.

The student Raghad Baghdadi also won the silver medal for the “Electronic Medical Syringe” project. This syringe is a tube that contains the most important tools for anesthesia. It works with high speed and great precision to avoid complications resulting from inserting the needle into the wrong areas of the body.

The silver medal was awarded to Ali Al-Barakati for the “Smart Heater” project which is used to control the temperature of water that is being heated. This is by means of an application linked to smart devices. The silver medal was awarded to Samar Al-Juhani, for the “Electrical Connections Anti-Fire System” project. This anti-fire system is an electronic system that tracks the increase in the electrical load and returns the system to its stable state in order to protect it. It has an efficiency of up to 99.39 %. The system provides communication with the user through Wi-Fi networks.

Bronze medal

The student Abdul-Wahhab Samkari won the bronze medal for the “Adaptive Turbine” project, which employs the movement of water to exploit kinetic energy. The student Ahmjad Fallatah, in collaboration with the Yusr Team, won the bronze medal for the “Communication System for People with Special Needs” project, which was developed to assist this special group of the society. The invention contains a number of tools, such as the eyesight sensor and the brain signal reader.

The student Uhoud Bukhari won the bronze medal for her project “The Smart Seating Position Adjustment System”, which is a smart chair consisting of 4 main components: body tilt sensor, energy source, vibration alarm system, and control circuit. It is linked to an electronic application that helps in improving the user experience.

The student Ibrahim Al-Zahrani also won the bronze medal for the “Crane Anti-Collapse System” project. This project is based on setting up a system that ensures maintaining the balance of the crane to protect humans and reduce the area of risk. The student Mawaddah Mujahid won the bronze medal for the “Smart Chair” project, which is powered by solar energy. It can be set up in all public places and has features of cooling/heating, mobile phone charging, and the ability to purchase from the chair’s built-in vending machine.