By Majd Othman

KUWAIT: The Kuwaiti-French Science Exhibition kicked off activities of its 16th edition under the theme of artificial intelligence, organized by MILSET Asia for middle school students, held under the auspices of French Ambassador Claire Le Fleischer and Assistant Undersecretary of the Ministry of Education for the Public Education Sector Osama Al-Sultan from Dec 5-7 at Ruqaya Intermediate School for Girls.

"MILSET, through this exhibition, sets an example and demonstrates the amount of scientific culture that requires exchange and openness with others. The exhibition is a great result of this initiative, and is part of the mission of the French Embassy. I hope this innovation will continue this cooperation," Le Fleischer said. "Seeing the students together exchanging their thoughts and opinions on artificial intelligence, which is a constantly evolving subject, is essential for the future. We live together in today's world and they are the ones who build their world for tomorrow, and I congratulate them on this beautiful French-Kuwaiti experience."

Sultan said the Ministry of Education in Kuwait is investing prominently and strongly in artificial intelligence, robotics and integrated science technologies through many projects that work to achieve the New Kuwait 2035 vision by supporting various competencies that have achieved local, Arab and international achievements. "Here we are witnessing this prominent event in Kuwait to spread artificial intelligence, robotics and programming technologies and work on developing them to improve all areas of life," Sultan said.

"The Ministry of Education pays great and increasing attention to the educational system, as it is the main supporter of comprehensive and sustainable development plans that our country is experiencing, which has begun to bear good results in all aspects of life. We hope it will be accompanied by an integrated renaissance that touches everyone," General Technical Instructor for Computers Mona Salem Awad said. "It goes without saying that this exhibition is the first of its kind that deals with artificial intelligence at the Ministry of Education, and is considered the first launch of the vision and orientation of the general technical guidance for computer subjects to update its curricula," she added.

"The Kuwaiti-French Science Exhibition is an ideal opportunity to encourage students to create and invent, which this exhibition seeks to expand students' perceptions regarding the design and registration of innovations and motivate them to enrich the scientific arena with new inventions," Adnan Al-Meer, Vice President of MILSET and Head of the Asia office, said.

"The exhibition has general objectives, including developing students' intellectual capabilities and practicing them scientifically, helping students to acquire critical thinking skills, giving students an opportunity for creativity and generating ideas, in addition to developing students' self-learning skills and providing an atmosphere that encourages students to exchange experiences with their peers, while spreading the culture of fun learning," he added.

Meer noted that the exhibition, in its 16th edition, is attended by 20 middle-school boys and girls, with 40 male and female students presenting 21 projects, which includes 31 pavilions, in addition to the participation of the French school in four projects, and five projects of the MILSET Asia office.