United Arab Emirates,  21 November 2022: Emirates Global Aluminium, the largest industrial company in the United Arab Emirates outside oil and gas, today announced that registrations are now open for ‘The EGA Aluminium Design and Innovation Challenge’, a competition held in partnership with Emirates Schools Establishment (ESE) and BMW Group to inspire school student’s interest in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics.

The challenge asks students in grades nine to 12 to apply their STEM skills to design and innovate with aluminium to make modern life possible. In teams of up to three, students will complete a project in one of the challenge themes - sustainable mobility, architecture, product design and green solutions.

The EGA Design and Innovation Design Challenge is part of EGA’s ‘Engineer the Future’ programme, which introduces school students in the UAE to the real-life application in industry of science, technology, engineering and mathematics. Encouraging young people to continue their studies and ultimately pursue careers in these fields is essential for the achievement of the UAE’s Operation 300bn industrial growth strategy.

Abdulnasser Bin Kalban, Chief Executive Officer of Emirates Global Aluminium, said: “EGA employs some 1,500 people in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics roles, and we fully recognise the importance of expertise in these fields for the further development of our nation. That is why we have developed our ‘Engineer the Future’ programme. The challenge provides an opportunity for students to put their learning into action. I thank Emirates Schools Establishment for their continued collaboration and am happy to welcome the support of BMW Group for this year’s challenge.”

Dr. Hamid Haqparwar, Managing Director at BMW Group Middle East, said: “We are delighted to take part in ‘The EGA Aluminium Design and Innovation Challenge’ by supporting this year’s ‘Sustainable Mobility’ theme. At BMW Group, we want to reduce the carbon footprint in our supply chain by 20 per cent. Therefore, sourcing material responsibly such as EGA’s CelestiAL solar aluminium plays an important part for the BMW Group as we aim to manufacture the greenest car. However, sustainable innovation starts with great minds, and we are convinced the young people of the UAE have much to offer for the future. I look forward to seeing the solutions that will come out of the challenge and would like to thank EGA for their commitment towards our youth.”

Students are encouraged to register via the challenge portal: https://www.ega.ae/en/ega-aluminium-design-challenge and submit project portfolios before the 16 December 2022 to be shortlisted.

The winning team for each theme will be awarded a AED 15,000 cash prize, and runner-up teams will receive AED 10,000.

EGA has supplied BMW Group with aluminium since 2013. Last year, EGA became the first company in the world to produce aluminium using solar power. BMW Group was the first customer for this metal, which EGA markets under the product name CelestiAL.