Pact inked to inspire students to promote green innovation

Muscat: Nama Group and the Environment Society of Oman (ESO) signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to organise a Green Innovation ECO-Thon.
Eng. Omar Al Wahaibi, Group CEO, signed the MoU on behalf of Nama Group and Dareen Mehdi Jaaffar, board member at ESO, signed on behalf of the Society.
The initiative’s main objective is to encourage Omani youth to tackle environmental challenges in the Sultanate. Based on the MoU, the ESO will implement the initiative that targets 100 students from colleges and universities to work on innovative solutions comprising applications, software and projects over a three-day period.
The ECO-Thon will focus on three main themes, namely waste management (reducing waste, recycling, up-cycling, waste-to-energy innovations), carbon capture and alternatives (smart transportation, carbon capture through plants, renewable energy sources as alternatives) and energy and water efficiency (on campus). Students are requested to use any platform, framework, language, or hardware device to configure their applications, software and projects.
Eng. Omar Al Wahaibi, CEO of Nama Group, said: “Nama Group aims to raise awareness and create a sustainability-led culture by training and developing young Omani talents. The initiative will support the students to create their own projects and develop their entrepreneurial ability as well.” Dareen Mehdi Jaaffar, board member, ESO, said: “Our mission is not only to protect Oman’s natural surroundings but also influence sustainable behaviour through education. We want to be at the forefront of promoting solutions to tackle environmental issues and Oman’s tech-savvy youth are a vital resource to help protect our beautiful country’s natural assets. We hope this agreement results in long-lasting benefits and inspires others to follow suit.”
During the first two days, the students will be provided with the opportunity to learn more about the selected topics, meet other students, form teams and also meet their mentors. On the last day of the ECO-Thon, they need to finalise their proposed products and ideas and present them to a panel of evaluators. They will also get the chance to exhibit their ideas and pitch their solutions to stakeholders, investors and interested partners.