Stars of Science has announced Walid Albanna as the Arab world's top innovator during the show's Season 10 Grand Finale. A firm favorite amongst jurors, innovators, and the public, the 35 year-old Palestinian neurosurgeon successfully outshone the competition in the last heated episode of the latest season of Qatar Foundation's (QF) edutainment reality TV show at Qatar Science and Technology Park (QSTP) in Doha, Qatar.
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Ahead of Saturday's Grand Finale, avid fans of the show and devotees of science and technology took to the internet to cast their votes for one of the four finalists. The online public vote, combined with the expert jury vote, earned Walid a score of 32.5 percent for his "Neurovascular Retina Analyzer." The smart wearable retina camera increases the quality of aftercare for patients who have suffered a stroke, and successfully secured Walid first place and $300,000 in investment.
"No words can describe how I feel in this moment," said Walid. "I would like to express my deepest gratitude to Qatar Foundation, Stars of Science, my family and friends, and everyone who has supported me throughout this journey of a lifetime; and to all the kids out there with heads full of dazzling ideas for how to improve lives across the world, please remember that your ideas matter and are definitely worth exploring! If I can do it, they certainly can."
Nour Majbour, the creator of the "Parkinson's Early Detection Kit," secured a well-deserved second place with a combined score of 31.3 percent, earning Nour $150,000. Innovator Sylia Khecheni came third with a score of 30.1 percent. Her "Home Privacy Drone Blocker," earned her $100,000 worth of prize money. Salim Al Kaabi came in fourth place, leading to him being awarded $50,000, with a score of 6.1 percent with his "Safe Frankincense Varnish for Artists."
Arab youth across the world who are interested in science, innovation, technology, and entrepreneurship are encouraged to apply in order to be considered for entering the next season of Stars of Science. Online applications will close on December 15. Applications should be submitted through the official Stars of Science website at http://www.starsofscience.com
