A Record Nine Middle East University Teams Head to Shell Eco-marathon Global Innovation Race

MENA Engineering Students will Join 113 teams in the Shell Challenge to Compete in the Race for the Most Fuel-Efficient Cars

2 teams from HCT's Al Ruwais Colleges and Abu Dhabi Men's College represent the UAE at the Shell challenge

Dubai, UAE – 04 February 2014 – In the biggest send off from the Middle East yet, a record number of 9 teams from the region's leading universities are heading to Manila to compete in Shell's global Eco-marathon Asia 2014 competition, taking place 6-9 February.

Engineering students who make up the majority of the teams have been hard at work, putting the final touches on their “Made in the UAE”, “Made in Qatar”, “Made in Egypt” and “Made in Lebanon” fuel-efficient vehicles ahead of the competition which will take place on the streets of Manila, where they will compete against over 100 other teams.

“We are excited to witness the “Made in the Middle East” innovations that will be globally showcased in Manila, at the Shell Eco-marathon race, an event that will stretch the boundaries of fuel efficiency this year.  ” said Andrew Vaughan – Shell Vice President for Abu Dhabi, Kuwait and Syria / Country Chairman of Abu Dhabi.

“In addition the skills the students acquire through this project will prepare them for a successful career and further encourage them to become active contributors to the future of innovation and smarter mobility in the region. We wish the students the best of luck in Manila in February,” continued Mr Vaughn.

The region's impressive regional representation is led by 2 team entries from the UAE's HC Al Ruwais Colleges and Abu Dhabi Men's College, 3 university teams from Qatar, 2 from Qatar University and 1 from Texas A&M, 2 teams from Lebanon's American University of Beirut and Lebanese American University and 2 from Egypt's Cairo University and Ain Shams University.

When asked about how they feel about the race and their main motivating factor to participate in this year's competition, all the students echoed their desire to win and Abdulazeez Al Mehairi, team leader from Al Ruwais Colleges had this to say:

“We have gained many skills from the Shell Eco-marathon, we learned how to work successfully as part of a large team, how to advance the capabilities of each of our team members, how to respect each other and finally to develop all of our engineering skills by applying the theory to a project such as this.  We hope to come away from Manila with a win for our “Made in the UAE” fuel efficient car and make our country proud.”

At the upcoming Shell competition in Manila, participating students will experience first-hand the energy challenges faced by true urban environments. City centres will bear the brunt of the world's surging population – rising to 9 billion from 7 billion by 2050 – as well as the energy demands that come with it. Taking the challenge to the streets of Manila will demonstrate how new technology can work in the heart of real cities.

For more information on all Shell Eco-marathon events across the globe, including official rules, instructions for registration and details on prizes, please visit the Shell Eco-marathon website.