Dubai – 
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This November and December, Dyson launched the “Engineering a Sustainable Future” schools programme in ten schools across the UAE. The program, managed by Dyson together with social impact agency Interact, inspires and excites 11-13-year-old students about engineering, innovation and sustainability.
Four engineering challenges, made available for teachers to lead in their schools, encourage design thinking, planning and engineering solutions through hands-on activities.
Johannes Mueller, Head of Dyson B2B, said: “The ‘Engineering a Sustainable Future’ schools’ program is the perfect opportunity for young students to learn how engineering and innovation contribute to a sustainable future. The four modules expand their understanding of lean engineering concepts and provide insights into how Dyson engineers constantly innovate through fun learning and practical examples.”
The programme is part of Dyson’s effort to positively contribute to sustainability and engineering teaching for children in schools – showing them what is possible while having fun.
Each challenge is designed around specific learning objectives to help students develop new sets of skills, within Dyson’s areas of expertise. The four modules are:
- Indoor air quality – “How clean is your air?”
- Sustainability – “How much oil?”
- Innovation in engineering – “Homemade vacuum cleaner”
- Hygiene – “The power of air”
Ten private schools in Dubai and Abu Dhabi are participating in the programme in its first year, including Aldar Schools’ Al Ain Academy.
Ian Pugh, Principal of Al Ain Academy, Aldar Schools, said: “The Dyson programme gave our students a new and engaging approach to science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) and nicely supplements our school’s teaching in this area. It has been great to see our students working together on various challenges. Building a homemade vacuum cleaner was a highlight, but they also learned how to calculate how much oil is needed to produce different plastic items. It was very enlightening for them.”
As part of the programme, Dyson ran an exclusive social media competition for the participating schools with the top three winning prizes.
The Arbor School in Dubai won 10 Airblade 9kj hand dryers for their school’s washrooms worth AED65,000. Al Ain Aldar Academy won 10 Dyson Air purifiers for their classrooms worth AED27,990. And Dubai British School Jumeirah Park won 30 tickets for a class excursion to Dubai’s Museum of the Future worth AED4,350.
