Hamdan bin Mohammed Smart University has recognised the winners of its Smart Book Club’s latest ‘Reading Knights’ Competition for their active role in promoting reading during a special ceremony held at its campus in Dubai Academic City. The competition was originally launched in honour of the proclamation of 2016 as the ‘Year of Reading’ by President His Highness Sheikh Khalifa bin Zayed Al Nahyan.

The contest aims to heighten awareness on the importance of reading and knowledge enrichment, develop the habit of self-learning, enhance analytical and critical thinking, and encourage knowledge sharing among readers of different cultural and cognitive backgrounds. Participants are invited to submit objective Arabic or English reviews of famous literary works.

The second round saw strong competition, with 566 candidates aged between 18 and 65 from different nationalities vying for the ‘Best Review’ of ‘Sharjah Air Station: Between East and West’ and ‘Sarad El Zat,’ two books written by H.H. Dr. Sheikh Sultan bin Mohammed Al Qasimi, Supreme Council Member and Ruler of Sharjah. This year’s champion under the ‘Arabic’ category was Ahmed Mubarak Salem (Bahrain) with 96.4 points, followed by Ruqaia Ashkanani (1st runner up, UAE) with 93.1 and Alia Mutref (2nd runner up, UAE) with 89.4. Shabbir Jabir (India) bested the ‘English’ category with an average of 62.5 points.

Dr. Mansour Al-Awar, Chancellor of HBMSU, honoured the new Reading Knights for their high level of work and emphasised the importance of continuously developing knowledge through self- and distance learning, which he referred to as pillars for comprehensive and sustainable development.

Al-Awar said, "Reading is an effective tool for gaining knowledge that leads to the development of individual capabilities. It contributes to the stimulation of intellectual abilities, the expansion of cognitive awareness, and the upgrading of analytical skills. We are going forward with this initiative to support national efforts to make the UAE a global capital of content, culture and knowledge. We are committed to highlighting its role as a major contributor to encouraging young generations to read and make reading a part of their daily lifestyle. This will allow them to play prominent roles in building a knowledge-based society, keeping abreast of technology and facing the challenges of the 21st century."

"We are pleased with the professional level of work submitted for the second round of the Reading Knights Competition. We are proud of the competitors’ exemplary efforts to instill reading as a social norm, and shed light on the importance of reading in the development and enhancement of national identity. Based on the positive feedback for this competition, the University is committed to developing more innovative initiatives to promote reading as a means to achieving personal, professional and national excellence," Al-Awar added.

The ‘Reading Knights’ Competition reflects the vision of Hamdan bin Mohammed Smart University to adopt a lifelong learning approach and drive excellence in knowledge exchange and enrichment by advancing learning and scientific research, two pursuits vital to development and prosperity which are key to making the UAE one of the most advanced countries in the world.

The upcoming third round of the competition will accept objective analyses of the book ‘Reflections on Happiness and Positivity’ written by Vice President, Prime Minister and Ruler of Dubai, His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, which can be submitted in Arabic or English.