Suqia Extends Deadline to Apply for 2nd Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum Global Water Award to 1 September 2019

The UAE Water Aid Foundation (Suqia) extended the deadline to enter the second Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum Global Water Award to 1 September 2019. Applicants participating in the award will compete to win prizes totalling USD 1 million.

HH Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice President and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai launched the award to encourage research centres, individuals, and innovators to find sustainable and innovative solar powered solutions for the scarcity of potable water. Suqia, under the umbrella of the Mohammed Bin Rashid Al Maktoum Global Initiatives (MBRGI), is supervising the award, which has three main categories: Innovative Projects, Innovative Research & Development, and Innovative Individual.

“This global award affirms the UAE's commitment to innovation and sustainability, and the search for sustainable solutions for the scarcity of potable water globally. This year’s award is particularly important during the Year of Tolerance, announced by HH Sheikh Khalifa bin Zayed Al Nahyan, President of the UAE. The Year of Tolerance is an extension to the Year of Zayed 2018, as it carries the values consolidated by the late Sheikh Zayed bin Sultan Al Nahyan who extended a helping hand to the needy worldwide to alleviate human suffering, regardless of gender, race, colour or religion. The award reflects our efforts to find sustainable and innovative solutions using solar energy to address the scarcity of potable water,” said HE Saeed Mohammed Al Tayer, Chairman of the Board of Trustees of Suqia.

The Innovative Projects category targets government, semi-government, and non-government organisations has two awards: Large Projects Award with prizes totalling USD 300,000, and Small Projects Award with prizes totalling USD 240,000. The Innovative Research & Development category targets individuals and teams from academic institutions and research centres that are independent or annexed to governmental or semi-government organisations. It has two awards: National Institutions Award and International Institutions Award, each worth USD 200,000. The Innovative Individual Award has two categories: Youth Award, which targets young adults between ages 15 and 35 with  prize value of USD 20,000; and Distinguished Researcher Award with prize value of USD 40,000.