ParOne STEAMathalon Putting Success for UAE Students

On April 25th and 26th the UAE’s very first ParOne STEAMathalon took place at The Els Club, in association with Canada’s leading Ed Tech company, Kalebr Americas, in partnership with BMW Group Middle East and AGMC and Dubai Autism Center. 20 UAE schools and over 100 students competed with their artificial intelligence GolfBots, trained to traverse a custom 3-hole mini golf course.

Finding victory, Nord Anglia International School, Al Barsha was crowned “Grand Winner 2019” champions of the ParOne STEAMathalon winning the BMW GolfSport Trophy. Expert judges, community votes and social media interaction were combined to decide the winners in categories ranging from Grand Winner 2019, Runners up, Most Creative, Most Popular, Most Sustainable, Most Tolerant, Grittiest Team, and Most Innovative, with exciting prizes awarded, such as BMW merchandise and car leases, a round trip to India from Cox and Kings, Emaar vouchers, and Kalebr goodies.

Speaking on the winner and the schools competing, Aaditya Tangri, co-founder of STEAMathalon, said the purpose of STEAMathalon was to promote innovation, well-being and empower learners with 21st-century workplace skills.

“The 2019 ParOne STEAMathalon demonstrated how AI, tolerance and sports can be successfully integrated into schools, creating exciting learning spaces at unexpected places to bring the community together. Most importantly, it is a brilliant real-world example of how industry partners such as BMW, AGMC, The Els Club, and Re:Set can join parents and teachers in the school to promote future skills and well-being for students while co-existing within the
school curriculum.”

Speaking about the initiative, Karl Whitehead, General Manager of The Els Club in Dubai Sports City, said: “The Els Club is delighted to have played a part in the very first ParOne STEAMathalon. The event’s AI learning focus meant an array of talented GolfBots were presented and took to our course this year. We were impressed to see how the young students’ efforts took shape to innovate and potentially improve the game of golf!”

Also in attendance and advocate for STEAMathalon, Rosamand Marshall, CEO of Taaleem, said, “Congratulations to Kalebr, bringing such an innovative competition to students in Dubai. ParOne STEAMathalon is a wonderful initiative, creating an environment in which learning can flourish. Students are able to immerse themselves in this holistic project, co-create, design and develop technical solutions for the competition, and the experience will remain with them for the rest of their lives. Providing these inspiring moments is how students are motivated to learn effectively, working in collaboration and in friendly competition with each other. The goal of the ParOne STEAMathalon established by Kalebr opens students’ minds and engenders mutual respect and tolerance in our society.”

Alongside the competition, the UAE community supported the initiative with over 500 guests in attendance to cheer on the students and enjoy the array of activities provided, including arts and crafts and slime station by Crafty Station, yoga by Voyoga, music session by Kids Lab Music, face painting and mascot appearance by Playdates, and balloon bending by We Rock The Spectrum Kid’s Gym. Vita Coco also offered healthy snack and drink options for those in attendance. Other partners included re:set, Careem, and KidZapp.

Participating schools included Dubai Autism Center, Garhoud, Dubai British School, Springs, Kent College, Nad Al Sheba, International School of Creative Science, Nad Al Sheba, GEMS International School, Al Khail, Nord Anglia International School, Al Barsha, Dunecrest American School, Al Barari, Fairgreen International School, Sustainable City, GEMS Winchester School, Jebel Ali, GEMS World Academy, Al Barsha, GEMS Wellington School, DSO, Horizon International School, Umm Suqeim, Regent International School, Al Barsha, Al Ittihad Private School, Jumeirah, Oxford School, Al Qusais, The Indian Academy, Al Qusais, Apple International School, Al Qusais, and Our Own English High School, Sharjah.

LIST OF WINNERS:
Grand Winner 2019 ParOne STEAMathalon: Nord Anglia International School, Al Barsha
1st Runners Up 2019 ParOne STEAMathalon: Our Own English High School, Sharjah
2nd Runners Up 2019 ParOne STEAMathalon: Oxford School, Al Qusais
2019 ParOne Golf Invitational Classic Winner: Horizon International School, Umm Suqeim
Most Creative (tied winners): Dubai Autism Center and Dunecrest American School, Al Barari
Most Popular: Nord Anglia International School, Al Barsha
Most Sustainable: Fairgreen International School, Sustainable City
Most Tolerant: International School of Creative Science, Nad Al Sheba
Grittiest Team (tied winners): Al Ittihad Private School, Jumeirah and Regent International School, Al Barsha
Most Innovative (tied winners): GEMS Wellington Academy, Silicon Oasis and Dubai British School, Springs