American University of Sharjah (AUS) organized a special day recently to highlight and celebrate the field of mathematics, with more than 200 top local high school students and teachers from 11 Sharakah partner schools participating in the AUS MathFest 2018. The event, which was organized by the AUS Office of Enrollment Management in collaboration with the Department of Mathematics and Statistics, focused on the importance AUS places on encouraging students to become critical thinkers and problem solvers.

The day-long event comprised individual and team competitions for students as well as a team competition for high school math teachers. It included a 75-minute test that consisted of multiple choice and written questions that each participating student solved individually. The test covered standard math topics from the schools’ curricula including logic, analytic and plane geometry, and basic algebra.

Welcoming the students and teachers at the opening ceremony, Dr. Mahmoud Anabtawi, Dean of the College of Arts and Sciences (CAS) at AUS, said:

“This is a very exciting competition that we have been holding for several years. After the event, I invite you to go around AUS and its beautiful campus and especially the CAS building to visit our facilities, labs and classrooms. We have an excellent, truly international faculty in the Department of Mathematics. We also have a lot of financial aid and scholarships opportunities for students and I urge you to apply to AUS. We prepare our students to explore different opportunities in life and be successful in their career paths.”

Ali Shuhaimy, Executive Director of Enrollment Management at AUS, also welcomed the students to the event. He said:

“I would like to thank the schools, teachers and all the students for joining us at the Mathfest, an annual event that we have been holding for the past four years. The Sharakah program is a partnership between AUS and schools that have been selected based on certain criteria. Our objective in this program is to make schools actively involved in promoting the cause of education in the country.

“Events such as this highlight the importance of engaging with high school students, to stimulate and share their interests in various fields and to provide them with an opportunity to have their questions about university education and campus life answered,” he added.

Participating schools in the MathFest include: Sharjah American International School–Dubai, Phildelphia Private School–Dubai, Al Nahda National School–Abu Dhabi, Al Najah Private School–Abu Dhabi, Rawafed Private School–Abu Dhabi, Al Maarifa International Private School–Sharjah, Alshola Private School–Sharjah, Victoria English School–Sharjah, Al Durrah International School, International School of Arts and Sciences–Dubai, and Al Mawakeb School, Garhoud–Dubai.

The event was held as part of the Sharakah program under which AUS has signed Memorandums of Understanding with a number of secondary schools in the UAE whereby the university will offer workshops to teachers and students; offer patronage of selected research, cultural, social and sporting activities and events organized by the Sharakah partner school; award partial scholarships to deserving students selected from lists provided by the schools; and offer university preparation courses, including SAT and TOEFL preparation courses, as well as recruitment of outstanding students from varied sociocultural and economic backgrounds to AUS.