Stars of Science reveals this season’s 16 candidates
DOHA: After a heated debate in the presence of a panel of 10 jurors, the science and technology edutainment reality TV program Stars of Science, initiated by Qatar Foundation and aired on MBC4, has announced the 16 candidates who are in the running for a place amongst this season’s top four winners.
A total of 16 of the region’s brightest minds were selected in the last round of the competition in Doha, by permanent jury members Youssef Abdulrahman AlSalhi, General Manager of Qatar Shell Research and Technology Centre and Professor Fouad Mrad, Executive Director for the Regional Technology Center at the United Nations - ESCWA , along with the region’s top eight academic jurors.
The overall score was broken down by type of innovation (40 percent), market outlook (30 percent), project practicality and feasibility (20 percent) as well as candidate presentation and overall motivation (10 percent). Permanent jury member for this season, Youssef AlSalhi, GM of Qatar Shell Research and Technology Centre said: “We have been supporting Stars of Science for the past four seasons so it’s a pleasure for me to honor this collaboration by joining the program as one of the permanent jurors for the fifth season.”
“So far, I have met so many committed and passionate young Arab innovators, which demonstrates that the region’s future generations are ready to prove themselves.
We were presented with numerous interesting ideas and projects during the casting which made it difficult to select just 16 candidates. However, I am confident that we’ve made the right selection and that our journey with the different candidates will be an interesting one.”
This Friday, the 16 innovators will undergo a series of psychological and physical assessments during Orientation Week, including a rigorous physical boot camp and psychometric testing which will give candidates feedback on their character and personality traits. The testing will be carried out by a host of leading experts from around the world who will expose the candidates to a variety of tasks including a swimming and raft building challenge, vertical flying, rock climbing and solving mathematical equations 6,000 feet in the air.
Permanent jury member Dr Fouad Mrad, Executive Director for the Regional Technology Center at the United Nations - ESCWA, commented: “It is important that the candidates are not only mentally but physically prepared for the competition ahead. I hope we see their can-do spirit this week in and out of the lab.”
Hosted by Khaled Al-Jumaily, Stars of Science Season Five consists of eight prime-time episodes plus the live finale, where the public will be invited to vote alongside the Jury. The program began on September 13, 2013 (8 pm KSA), with daily updates airing from Saturday October 5 at 4:30 pm KSA on MBC4.
These sites also include information on the application process for Stars of Science Season Six which is currently accepting submissions from applicants until December 15, 2013.