The Telecommunications Regulatory Authority (TRA) concluded the activities of the sixth edition of its Summer Innovation Camp, which was held virtually, and lasted for two weeks. The closing ceremony was held virtual during which the TRA awarded the students who presented the best projects in the camp. The ceremony was attended by His Excellency Eng. Majed Al Mesmar, TRA Deputy Director General for the Telecommunication Sector, the winning students and their parents.

The camp, which was held under the slogan “ICT Lab at every home”, aimed to invest in the national human resources by focusing mainly on ICT, in line with the vision of the UAE.

The camp embraced the current innovative method of education and training, as it was held virtually and provided knowledge, modern technologies and robotics in an interesting and modern manner, relying on home technical laboratories delivered by TRA to the participants in their homes.

During the camp, the students learned about the various essential electronic parts and tools in the electronics industry, and acquired the skill of equipping a home technical lab that contains many components, including sensors, control and electronic circuits, in addition to understanding and installing robot parts in the correct sequence. They also learned the basics of programming and how to use it to control the robot, and many other skills.

H.E. Eng. Majed Al Mesmar, Deputy Director General for the Telecommunication Sector, said in his speech during the ceremony: “It was a beautiful and rich experience. We can proudly consider it a continuation of the successes we have accomplished during the current exceptional situation. You know that the UAE was able within a few days to switch from classroom learning to distance learning, while many education systems in other parts of the world suffered confusion due to lack of readiness for distance learning.”

H.E. Al Mesmar added: “When we discussed the 2020 edition of TRA camp, it did not take much time and discussion to decide to hold the camp in the innovative way that we have lived together, and so the slogan that we adopted was the smart alternative “ICT Lab at every home”. Our bet was on you, your high sense of responsibility, your ability to deal with today’s tools, and your response to the new trends in our beloved country. This is why we succeeded, and here we are today celebrating a new achievement in preparing for the sustainable future. We have won by passing this experience, and we have gained more experience in digital lifestyle, which is one of TRA strategic objectives within its role in digital government enablement.”

2449 labs

The number of home laboratories distributed by TRA to students reached 2,449 labs, which were delivered to their homes in line with the prevention measures approved by the competent authorities. The participating students used these labs in building and programming electronics and robots as a major project for this year's camp, where tasks were divided over the days of the camp.

Each box contained all the parts and equipment that helped the students build their projects, such as instruction booklets, robot parts, motors, sensors, lamps, resistors, and others.

13 missions

During the camp, the participants accomplished 13 practical tasks assigned to them. The students learned how to equip the home lab, ensure safety procedures, operate a simplified electronic circuit, build robots, connect the servo motor and ultrasound sensor to the Arduino, connect wheel drives with motor controller and program to control movement. They learned how to build a robot structure and implement an intelligent robot project that tracks a specific path on the floor of the room. They built their own projects and shared them with the world.

19 virtual lessons

In order to implement these tasks, TRA provided specialized training materials on TRA Virtual Academy website. The materials included 19 videos, which were produced specifically to train the camp participants and provide them with all the information they need to perform the required tasks. The videos contained information on the robot and its parts, simple electronic circuits, servo motors, sensors and other technologies, as well as safety and security information when dealing with these technologies.

10 hours of live broadcast

During the camp, the supervisors and trainers communicated directly with the students through live broadcast, providing them with all the information and knowledge that would help them develop their skills in terms of building and programming robots, identifying problems and reaching solutions. The trainers answered all the participants’ inquiries and questions during the live broadcast.

The winning projects

TRA confirmed that the students presented a wide range of distinguished projects. The winners were selected by the camp team based on the distinction of the idea and performing all the required tasks, in addition to the result of voting on social media, where community members were involved in choosing the best projects.

Moreover, in order to encourage students, and given the strength of competition, TRA awarded the best six projects. The golden medal went to Maryam Ahmad Muhammad Al-Zeyoudi, and Zayed Salem Abdullah Al-Yamahi. The silver medal went to Noura Muhammad Abdullah Al-Marzooqi and Khaled Walid Khaled Al Ali, while the bronze medal went to Moza Saeed Rashid Al Dhanhani and Muhammad Al Muqbali.

The camp, in its sixth edition, is a continuation of the successes achieved in previous editions, and a reflection of TRA’s commitment to its social responsibilities towards Emirati students, by providing them with the necessary skills of smart city, safe use of technology and social communication, design and arts, creativity and future making, and positive skills.