The Telecommunications & Digital Government Regulatory Authority (TDRA) has announced the opening of registration for UAE students from all nationalities, to take part in the all new TDRA Virtual Camp, in its eights edition, through the Metaverse technology this year.
The new edition of the Camp will be a unique experience for UAE students by allowing them to explore the great potential of the metaverse, which is the future of the Internet in years to come. Over the course of two weeks, students will design technological projects with the aid of digital training materials and an interactive platform, supported by a dedicated project training staff. That is in addition to providing a live feed for students to live the full metaverse experience.
The TDRA Virtual Camp aims to introduce the next generation to key technical areas of the future, while supporting exploration, innovation, and future foresight endeavours as well as self development of youth’s technical skills in line with UAE’s ICT trends and in support of the overall digital transformation.
Commenting on the Camp’s brand-new edition, H.E. Eng. Mohammad al-Zarooni, Deputy Director General of the Information & Digital Government Sector at TDRA, said “The journey of the virtual camp reflects TDRA’s orientation in adopting the latest techniques to develop its projects and initiatives. In its beginnings the Camp required physical attendance, but has shifted to virtual attendance and virtual laboratories in the previous two sessions, by utilizing the advanced infrastructure of the UAE’s telecommunications sector, and today, the Camp enters a new chapter: the metaverse. In this year’s edition, our children will live a completely different experience, as they will have the opportunity to give the future of the Internet a go and test its boundless potential firsthand. We were keen in this year’s edition to provide the younger generation with the latest information and know-hows in an innovative environment, to play a part in a brighter tomorrow for our beloved UAE.”
TDRA noted that this year’s Camp, taking place from July 25 to August 5, 2022, features the participation of 3000 students, divided into two age groups 7-12 years and 13-18 years respectively. Each age group will use a different programming language, and 250 outstanding students from the second age group will be selected at the end of week one to proceed to the advanced track, based on their performance in that week.
Also in this year’s edition, TDRA has set out the overall trajectory of tasks, under which students will carry out daily tasks. As for the advanced track; it is for outstanding projects built by students with the help of the support team. Students selected from the second age group based on evaluation and performance, are going to participate in this track during week one, following the student’s consent to move to said track.
The TDRA Virtual Camp will include daily prizes to motivate participants to answer a few questions that require exploring the virtual environment (general track). Moreover, in-kind prizes will be given for the best advanced track projects (second age group), in addition to selecting three winners from the first age group.
The TDRA Virtual Camp in its 8th edition is a continuation of the successful sessions in the past, and a reflection of TDRA’s commitment to its social responsibility towards Emirati students, by equipping them with the skills to lead in the adoption of future technologies (such as the smart city) skills to the safe use of technology and social media and skills in design, arts and creativity, among others. The Camp has trained more than 21,000 students during its previous sessions, and saw some 15,000 ICT home labs.
