ATRC school STEM drive reaches 5,300 Abu Dhabi students
Students submit over 1,100 research projects in year-long STEM scheme
#UAE #education — Abu Dhabi government research body Advanced Technology Research Council (ATRC) has concluded the first year of its School Programme, a STEM initiative that reached 5,391 students across 84 public and private schools in the emirate. Developed with ATRC’s applied research arm Technology Innovation Institute (TII), the bilingual programme covers nine technology fields including artificial intelligence, robotics and quantum technologies, and produced 1,137 student project submissions over the year. The scheme supports Abu Dhabi’s target of becoming the world’s first fully AI-native government by 2027.
SO WHAT? — Reaching more than 5,000 students through 84 schools makes the ATRC School Programme one of the larger research-integrated STEM programmes run at school level anywhere in the region. Achieving this during its first year is especially encouraging for the future of the initiative. Pairing classroom theory with direct contact with TII researchers gives students exposure to live research rather than textbook theory, which is designed as much to inspire students for future STEM careers as it is to teach them.
KEY POINTS:
The Abu Dhabi government’s Advanced Technology Research Council (ATRC) has concluded the first year of its School Programme, engaging 5,391 students across 84 public and private middle and high schools in Abu Dhabi since launching for the 2025/26 academic year.
The year-long programme was developed with ATRC’s applied research arm TII and is delivered bilingually in English and Arabic, combining theoretical learning, hands-on activities, expert-led workshops and student projects. The initiative is endorsed by the UAE Ministry of Education and the Abu Dhabi Department of Education and Knowledge (ADEK).
The curriculum spans nine technology domains: autonomous robotics, artificial intelligence and digital science, secure systems, renewable and sustainable energy, propulsion and space technology, directed energy, cryptography, quantum technologies, and advanced materials.
209 teachers received specialised training and curriculum resources to deliver the programme. Meanwhile, students generated 1,137 project submissions addressing real-world challenges across the nine technology fields over the course of the year.
The programme culminated in a graduation and awards ceremony in Abu Dhabi, where 159 student winners were recognised for outstanding project submissions.
ATRC named Applied Technology School - AQB, Applied Technology School - Baniyas, and Al Ain Juniors School as the top-performing schools based on student participation and project submissions, and also recognised outstanding teachers.
ATRC Executive Director Abdulaziz Al Dosari said the programme is intended to build national R&D capability by giving students early exposure to advanced science and the researchers working in it.
ZOOM OUT — ATRC was set up by the Abu Dhabi government in 2020 to consolidate the emirate's technology research under one body, with a mandate covering research strategy, investment funding, policy, and commercialisation across academia and industry. Its applied research arm, TII, runs nine research centres spanning advanced materials, AI and digital science, autonomous robotics, cryptography, directed energy, propulsion and space, quantum technologies, renewable energy, and secure systems, staffed by scientists, engineers and mathematicians from multiple disciplines.
[Written and edited with the assistance of AI]
Source: ATRC
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