EgyptFeatures/Interviews

Young Egyptian scientist awarded gold medal at International Exhibition of Inventions

Young Egyptian scientist Mostafa Magdi al-Sawy was awarded the gold medal at the International Exhibition of Inventions in the United Arab Emirates for his project “The Smart Dam”.
 
Al-Masry Al-Youm tells Sawy’s story: from promises by the Egyptian government to adopt his inventions to his receival of the Emirati citizenship and representing his adopted country in global innovation conferences.
 
When he was still in ninth grade, Sawy invented the “Smart Dam” to eliminate the problem of electricity and the prospect of water shortages after the construction of the Ethiopian Renaissance Dam.
 
The idea is to construct a dam in the sea that allows the water to slope and rotate seven turbines of 600 MW each, while making use of the surface wind, which is 70 percent stronger than the earth’s surface wind.
 
He suggested the dam be built in Salloum on the northern coast, as other areas are tourist destinations whose businesses may be affected by the project.
 
Additionally, the salt ratio in the water of this area does not prevent the irrigation of its vast reclamation land.
 
Sawy was nominated by Mansoura University to represent Egypt at the International Exhibition of Arab Talents in London in 2014, where he won the best researcher and inventor award for his “Smart Dam” project.
 
“I like President Sisi,” he said in a TV program after he won the award. “And I would like to benefit Egypt and represent it in world events.”
 
But he represented the UAE at the International Exhibition of Innovations. instead, after he was granted Emirati citizenship. “The officials in Egypt did not care much about my invention,” he said. “It was the UAE that supported me, not Egypt.”
 
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Users of social networking have lashed out against those in charge of scientific research in Egypt and demanded that President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi take care of scientists before they move to other countries.
 
 
Edited translation from Al-Masry Al-Youm

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