Dreamers, a STEP Group brand and platform dedicated to preparing children with skills needed to succeed for the jobs of tomorrow, held their first summer camp program at the American University in Dubai (AUD).
The Dreamers program completed 2 modules covering future industries and technology and space exploration for children from not only Dubai but also Abu Dhabi, aged 8 to 13, in the month of July. Being the first summer camp in Dubai to have high profile facilitators from the region’s entrepreneurship ecosystem, theory and practice were combined in a fun, experimental setting.
The first module, Space Exploration, covered rocket and satellite building, Earth and gravity, a mission to Mars, hosted by Dr. Adnan, R&D scientist that has worked with NASA, and more. The second module, Building the Future, covered design thinking, 3D modeling & printing, coding, robotics and automation. Khalifa Laaksonen, co-founder & COO of Hoop, a scooter startup, joined the camp to host a session on automation and the future of transportation. Rami Salman, VP of Growth at Voicea, made a guest appearance and hosted a Q&A session with the young Dreamers about entrepreneurship.
“Everyone has been talking about the talent problem in the Arab world and we decided to do something about it. Dreamers tackles this problem head-on by preparing our children and teenagers for the era and job market of automation and space exploration,” Ray Dargham, STEP Group CEO & Co Founder.
During the design thinking and problem solving sessions, dreamers came up with interesting business ideas including using Virtual Reality on roller coasters to provide an immersive experience, creating adjustable features on scooters to address height issues, and building an environment for plants to grow on the Moon. Among the young dreamers, one 8 year-old aspires to be an App developer, a 12 year-old aspires to be a Space Researcher, and a 9 year-old aspires to be an Engineer.
Dreamers platform will continue to support the future workforce with the right technology and entrepreneurial skills needed to succeed for the non-traditional jobs that are now in the market with more seasonal camps and year-round in-school and after-school programs across schools in the UAE.
More information can be found on www.dreamers.me