In line with its efforts to support the advancement of the Kingdom in various sectors, the National Bank of Bahrain B.S.C. (NBB) is sponsoring a number of students from the University of Bahrain (UOB) in their participation in the Solar Decathlon; an international inter-collegiate sports competition established in the United States of America.

The competition is created by the United States Department of Energy in which universities from all over the world meet to design, build and operate sustainable Solar-powered houses, and the UOB team has qualified to continue participating in the competition after successfully completing the first qualifying rounds.  The Middle East organisation of the Solar Decathlon will focus on 7 main pillars for this competition; sustainability, future, innovation, clean energy, mobility, smart solutions and, finally, happiness.  NBB is currently supporting this group of talented individuals representing the Kingdom by becoming a Golden Sponsor of the competition, and is set to provide UOB participants with the necessary requirements to fulfill their needs. 

Jean-Christophe Durand, Chief Executive Officer of NBB, said: “It is always a great honor to support our young students in this international event, and we are constantly seeking to invest in expanding the knowledge base and promote innovative initiatives within the education sector. Furthermore, such international event provides opportunity to showcase the Kingdom’s vision to capitalize on renewable energy, and gain recognition for the success of our national talents by highlighting their diversified capabilities and accomplishments.”

Dr. Riyadh Hamza, President of the University of Bahrain, said: “We are proud of our students’ achievement and the recognition they have received by qualifying for this international competition. We see the Solar Decathalon as a great opportunity to raise Bahrain’s profile on a global scale, in line with the Kingdom’s vision to establish itself as a leader in the educational sector within the region and the world. The support and sponsorship from a leading institute such as the National Bank of Bahrain acts as a huge motivator for our students to persevere and reach greater heights. We look forward to more distinguished partnerships and further opportunities to showcase our local talent.”

As the only participant in the competition representing the Kingdom of Bahrain, the UOB team comprises of 20 members from different schools within the university, including the Science, Engineering and Information Technology departments, and is set to compete against 18 different teams representing a number of countries and universities from the region.

The houses built by the participating teams for the Solar Decathlon Middle East will be showcased in the Dubai Expo 2020, and will receive television and media coverage locally, regionally and internationally. The winners of the competition will be announced at the end of 2021, with the winning design to be built on site at the Dubai Solar Village.