Doha: The air was filled with flying machines as 28 Qatari students from schools across Qatar navigated their drones through an obstacle course to show off the exciting aspects of engineering and science they learned last week through Engineering Heroes Drone Camp in Education City.

Minister of Energy and Industry H E Dr Mohammed bin Saleh Al Sada attended the final day of Engineering Heroes to watch the students navigate through the obstacle course competition.

Engineering Heroes is a unique and innovative academic outreach initiative that teaches principles of aviation programming and power electronics as students are immersed in drone technology and its diverse applications.

Dr Hassan S Bazzi Assistant Dean for Research and Executive Director Development Engagement and Outreach Texas A&M at Qatar (TAMUQ) said the programme demonstrated the diverse applications for engineering and science in Qatar’s pursuit of a knowledge-based economy.

“Engineering and science are essential for Qatar’s oil and gas industry but the value of such expertise extends much further particularly in defence and national security” Dr Bazzi said. “Through Engineering Heroes these Qatari students saw a broad range of career opportunities that await them after university studies in engineering and science.”

Maersk Oil Qatar (MOQ) is the exclusive sponsor and industry partner for Engineering Heroes organised by TAMUQ. Engineering Heroes is one of STEM (science technology engineering and math) programmes put together by TAMUQ and MOQ through their Dhia: Engineering Leaders partnership which delivers strategic educational outreach programmes to motivate young Qataris to choose educational pathways for careers in fields related to STEM.

Throughout the week faculty staff and researchers from TAMUQ and Hamad Bin Khalifa University led students through exercises and design challenges to prepare them for the final challenge the drone obstacle course competition in which the students applied what they learned to simulated real-world problems that drones can solve. An added challenge for the students was learning to programme and navigate in three dimensions — not just forward and backward and right and left but also up and down — using cameras mounted on the drones.

The seven teams each of four or five students were coached by officers from the Reconnaissance and Surveillance Centre of the Qatar Armed Forces. The student teams were required to fly their drones through an obstacle course that included a model of the Zubarah Fort and a MOQ platform in the Arabian Gulf — and to land their drones safely after particular tasks were completed.

Winning teams were chosen according to their performance in the obstacle course and their application of programming skills developed over the course of the week.

The students also had a special opportunity to preview drone technology recently adopted by Qatar’s military forces during an exclusive presentation earlier in the week by officers from the centre. General Khalid Ahmad Al Kuwari encouraged students to study hard to attain the knowledge needed to support technology for Qatar’s national defence and said engineering is a calling for Qatar.The Peninsula