4 days ago
Annual science fiesta pays tributes to 70 years of India–Oman ties
Students and teachers from as far as Jaalan Bani Bu Ali, Khasab, Sur, Ibri, Al Rustaq, Salalah and other schools in Muscat and nearby areas arrived at the campus of the National University of Science and Technology (NUST) to compete in the Annual Science Fiesta 2025 of the Indian Science Forum, an innovative event dedicated to 70 years of India–Oman diplomatic relations.
The Annual Science Fiesta 2025 brought together bright young minds from across Oman for a dynamic celebration of science, technology and innovation. The Indian School Al Ghubra won the Rolling Trophy for the overall champion. The first runner-up was Indian School Bausher while the Indian School Al Maabela bagged the second runner-up.
'AI – Mind Meets Machine', was this year's theme in competitions such as debates, poster making, digital symposium and exhibition. More than 5,000 students vied for the Shastra Pratibha contest.
The Science and Technology Achievement Award was presented to Dr Monojit Choudhury, Professor at Mohamed Bin Zayed University of Artificial Intelligence (MBZUAI), Abu Dhabi, who was also the keynote speaker. He works on natural language processing (NLP) and various branches of cognitive and social sciences. He has drawn inspiration from and contributed to the fields of historical and evolutionary linguistics, sociolinguistics, ethics, culture studies and ethnography.
Tariq bin Hilal al Barwani, technologist and influencer, was honoured with the prestigious Jayakar Award.
'This award is not just a recognition of past achievements, but a call to continue building, inspiring and transforming lives,' said Tariq, adding, 'I dedicate this honour to every young dreamer who believes in the power of knowledge, resilience and service to society.'
The award was presented by G V Srinivas, Ambassador of India to the Sultanate of Oman, in the presence of Dr J Retnakumar, Chairman of the Indian Science Forum, Kiran Asher and Syed Ahmad Salman, Chairman of the Board of Directors of Indian Schools in Oman.
