Intense heat, aquamarine beaches, and infinite curiosity. We are the STEMvengers, our name being a mirror to our honor and pride for our country as well as our desire to push for change and advance it into technology.  Like Qatar, the nation we represent, our team is diverse, innovative, and built on our individual experiences and talent paired with teamwork and a drive to learn, discover, and explore.

Our FGC 2021 team Qatar consists of:

Ahmed Ali, who loves to see the world through the language of mathematics and physics, and is the leader of his school’s Model United Nations (MUN) program; Yousef Altoum, who is skilled at programming and can kick hard (having earned a black belt in Taekwondo); our jack of all trades, Rohit Lal, who spends his time swimming in cool water, on stage singing and dancing, and exploring biogenetics and mechanics; Alya Alabadh, who builds worlds out of words written in Arabic and, against all odds, invented a gun-shooting cards game of her own; soaring through high winds and soft clouds is Mohamed Saad, an aspiring virtual pilot and licensed ground controller on VATSIM; dreaming of traveling out of this world, the night sky in her soul, is space lover, feminist, and rover builder, Jannatul Mawa, who is an astronautics fan and debate champion.

Then, Tara Tafreshi, who is the president of her school’s environmental club and an advocate for women’s education; Bilal Muneer, who is in love with cars and electronics;  Karim Sobh, who is interested in updating computers and evolving technology; a science and technology enthusiast and admirer of Elon Musk, Omar Ashraf, who also enjoys many sports including football (soccer) and table tennis; Youssef Ashraf, who is influenced by figures such as Nikola Tesla and is an avid debater; Bissan Abdulghany, whose favorite subjects are mathematics, engineering, and physics, and whose hobbies are puzzle-solving, singing, and playing football; Ali Mohamed, who is a student with a rich background in robotics and a passion for design; Mahi Sharma, who is passionate about chemistry and mathematics as well as being interested in MUN, solving riddles, reading, and photography; and finally, our youngest member, Ruby Abdeldayim, who is passionate about traveling to places around our world as well as the fictional worlds between book pages, and translates that on empty paper with sketches.

We are brought together by the STEM Hub Robotic Club (SHRC) and our mentors Dr. Mohamed Gharib, Tala Katbeh, Benjamin Cieslinski, and Arham Khalid. Our shared interest in robotics, tinkering and perfecting circuits, and innovation help us shape our country under fluorescent lamps as felt in the soft yellow sand of the desert, and our thirst for knowledge is reflected in the blue waves of the Corniche Park.

We are the STEMvengers. We are Team Qatar.