December 22, 2020
Nile University team “RPMUS” won first place in the finals of the third season of the Electric Vehicle Rally (EVER) Egypt competition and won the grand prize of 300,000 EGP after a strong competition that included 19 Egyptian teams. NU team heads members are Hassaan Ibrahim, Mohamed Khaled, Abdallah Ali, Abdelrahman El-Hawary, Ahmed Mohsen, Ahmed Hossam, Abdelrahman Nabil, and Nada Abbas.
Minister of Higher Education and Scientific Research, Dr. Khaled Abdel Ghaffar, inaugurated the rally which was held under the auspices of the Prime Minister in front of the Giza Pyramids. Dr. Abdel Ghaffar said that the electric car rally was an important event that was held despite the unfortunate circumstances across the world that resulted in the postponement of most competitions due to the spread of the coronavirus. During the event, the Minister stressed on the importance of connecting education and scientific research with industry, which the ministry provides the necessary support in order to utilize students’ energies in innovation and scientific research.
RPMUS Student Organization is a student developing program at NU that contribute to society by developing individuals through periodic sessions and training in order to spread knowledge and awareness in an easy, fun and applicable way. They also work on various projects and emerging research topics with the intention of keeping its members' technical skills at its best to ensure their domination over the related technical fields in the market.
According to Hassaan Ibrahim, a 5th year mechanical major student and one of the team leaders, “the collective effort of 35 members which lasted for 6 months together with the university’s support through dedicatating for us a workshop area, and a supervisor, among many others, has enabled us to win 1st place;” he also added that “ there is always a more room for improvement, and part of the prize's budget will be allocated next year for an even more established vehicle”.
The idea of the rally emerged for the first time in 2017 as part of the Academy of Scientific Research and Technology (ASRT) first operational plan within the axis of deepening local industrialization, localization and production of technology - an initiative launched by Dr. Khaled Abdel Ghaffar, Minister of Higher Education and Scientific Research. The Electric Vehicle Rally (EVER) Egypt is the first technological competition of its kind in Egypt and the region.
The faculty of engineering at Al-Matareya, Helwan University came in second place with a prize value of 150,000 EGP, while the third place was won by the Zewail University team and the prize was 75,000 EGP, in addition to the prize for the Best Car Design which was awarded to the University of Menoufia. Best Presentation Award was presented to the Higher Technological Institute in 10th of Ramadan city as 1st place, the 2nd place was for Mansoura University, and the 3rd place was for Ain Shams University; there was also a prize for the Best New Team, which was awarded to the University of Assiut, and the prize for the Best Team Spirit was taken by Al-Azhar University.
The teams that were qualified for the final stage of the Electric Vehicle Rally (EVER) Egypt competition are the engineering faculties teams from the following universities and institutes: Ain Shams University The Higher Technological Institute of the 10th of Ramadan, the Russian University in Egypt, Kafr El Sheikh University, Nile University, Mansoura University, Helwan University, Suez Canal University, Zewail City of Science and Technology, Menoufia University, South Valley University, Zagazig University, the British University in Egypt. 6 new teams were selected to participate in the competition this year, and they were the universities of: Benha, GUC, Assiut, Tanta, CUC, and Al-Azhar. The number of teams qualified to this year’s final were 19 teams, and they received the material support provided by the Academy of Scientific Research and Technology.
Dr. Mahmoud Sakr, the president of the Academy of Scientific Research and Technology (ASRT), said in a statement that the Academy’s executive plan 2018/2022 pays great attention to technological and industrial alliances with the aim of transferring and localizing technology, deepening local manufacturing, and gathering national capabilities scattered at home and abroad. He added that this year focused on the automotive industry and the digital industry.
Dr. Sakr stressed that the rally is dedicated for locally made electric cars with the aim of supporting the automotive industry in Egypt and for increasing the percentage of the local component, as well as establishing a center for research and development in the auto industry. He added that the total funding allocated for this program reached 40 million pounds; a total of 30 universities have participated this year who were filtered to 19 teams and witnessed about 300 training hours over a period of 9 months.
In this context, Dr. Amr Farouk, assistant president of the Academy for Technological Development, explained that 2020 Electric Vehicle Rally (EVER) Egypt competition was held with special preparations, including building roads, racetracks, spaces and stands for spectators and spaces for media coverage.
He stated that the program aims through innovative mechanisms such as the rally and the competition to design and manufacture a homemade electric car, qualify a team of researchers and scientists in this field in partnership with the relevant ministries. In addition, this prepares engineering cadres and attracts the best elements to enter this field and put Egypt on the international map to participate in international competitions through an institutional system supported by the state, which helps to increase the confidence of international companies to invest in this field in Egypt and enter into partnerships. The importance of such initiatives lies also on qualifying technical workers, engineers, researchers, and designers in the fields of embedded software, mechanical parts, electrical driving systems, design and owning the components of this promising industry, in addition to supporting and motivating students and innovators in a fun and an enhusiastic atmosphere.
Thousands of congratulations were sent to the NU team from many platforms and different people from inside and outside the country. This achievement is one of many others that NU students have excelled in. We will always do our best to support our students and we hope these portals of success will be their path for a bright future.