Apollo Astronaut Al Worden Presents First “endeavour” Scholarships To Emirati Students & Educators At Dubai Airshow 2019

Scholarship recipients receive an expenses-paid week of astronaut training at Space Camp in the U.S.

DUBAI, UAE / November 19, 2019 — The inaugural mission of the “Astronaut Al Worden Endeavour Scholarship” program took off yesterday with the presentation of the first awards to four Emirati students and two educators during a ceremony in the USA Partnership Pavilion at the Dubai Airshow 2019.

The new program’s namesake, Apollo 15 Command Module Pilot Col. Al Worden, USAF-Ret., announced the winners with Tom Kallman, President and CEO of the Kallman Foundation, the not-for-profit 501(c)(3) arm of U.S. trade show organizer Kallman Worldwide, which administers the program.

They were joined by H.E. Dr. Mohammed Nasser Al Ahbabi, Director General of the UAE Space Agency; and John Rakolta, Jr., U.S. Ambassador to the United Arab Emirates, along with government, military and industry leaders to congratulate the winners of an all-expenses paid, week-long, hands-on astronaut training experience at the U.S. Space and Rocket Center’s renowned Space Camp in Huntsville, AL.

The official UAE Class of 2020 at the award ceremony with Apollo 15 CMP Al Worden and Tom Kallman, President and CEO of Kallman Worldwide!
Scholarship recipients (L to R): Rasha Abou Arkoub, Physics Professor at the International Community School (ICS), Alanood Abdulla Al Hajri, Omran Rahma Orman Ali Al Shamsi, and Mohammed Humaid Aldhaheri.
Not pictured: Saif Baha Al Badawna and Ghaleb Awad Wahbi.

STUDENT WINNERS

Alanood Abdulla Al Hajri
Al Khaleej National School, Dubai, UAE

Mohammed Humaid Aldhaheri
International Community School, Abu Dhabi, UAE

Omran Rahma Orman Ali Al Shamsi
Al Resalah American International School, Sharjah, UAE

Saif Baha Al Badawna
International Community School (ICS), Abu Dhabi, UAE

EDUCATOR WINNERS

Rasha Abou Arkoub
Physics Professor
International Community School (ICS), Abu Dhabi, UAE

Ghaleb Awad Wahbi
Teacher Development Coach
Alef Education, Abu Dhabi, UAE

The awards announced at the Dubai Airshow are the first of 40 scheduled to be presented at major air shows around the world over the next two years.

“Current events, including the 50^th anniversary this week of the Apollo 12 moon landing and the successful flight last month of the UAE’s first astronaut in space, Hazzaa Al Mansoori, provide a unique opportunity to reflect on the positive impact space programs have had on society, and re-emphasize the need for continued support of public and private initiatives dedicated to aerospace exploration and commerce,” said Kallman. “Nation-to-nation, in partnership with the UAE Space Agency, industry partners  around the world and the leaders of Space Camp, the premiere astronaut training experience, we’re proud to present the first Astronaut Al Worden Endeavour Scholarship to honor the past and launch the future of space exploration in the UAE.”

As one of only 24 people who have flown from the Earth to the Moon and back, Worden is a role model for career engineers. In the decades following his historic 1971 flight, he has applied his business acumen, technical talents and passion for innovation to a wide range of interests in industry, academia and public service. In particular, he is an active advocate for the future engineering workforce — in all disciplines — and the communities in which they live and work around the world.

“As a lifelong advocate for STEM education and exploration, I am deeply honored and excited to congratulate the first recipients of this scholarship,” said Worden. “When you consider the decades of rigor and discipline it’s going to take to successfully put people from Earth on Mars, and that the UAE has plans for establishing a colony on Mars by 2117, we need to pick up the pace. The pipeline for STEM talent can handle a lot more volume!”

Since 1982, Space Camp has inspired the next generation of astronauts, engineers and scientists through an immersive program that includes astronaut training and simulated space missions. Space Camp alumni include NASA and European Space Agency (ESA) astronauts as well as engineers, scientists and technologists in myriad disciplines around the world.

“The Space Camp experience bonds like-minded space explorers through their training, missions and team experience,” Dr. Deborah Barnhart, CEO and Executive Director of the U.S. Space & Rocket Center, said. “Creating lasting relationships among nations is key to living and working in space and to accomplishing mankind’s next giant leap forward. In that same spirit, the Astronaut Al Worden Endeavour Scholarship heightens connections around the globe to achieve success in space for years to come.”

For more information, visit www.kallman.com/endeavour

ABOUT THE KALLMAN WORLDWIDE FOUNDATION

Established in 1963, Kallman Worldwide creates unique opportunities for U.S. companies to build business relationships around the world by maximizing their impact at international trade shows. The company recognizes the success of the events it represents — some for more than two decades — reflects each host country’s pride in welcoming exhibitors and partners year after year, and in appreciation, the Kallman Foundation gives back.

Nation-to-nation as a grateful representative of the United States of America, and people-to-people as a responsible global citizen, the foundation works with local institutions that further industry's ambitions, and service organizations dedicated to improving the quality of life in event communities. Notable initiatives include support for the Corporation of Friends of the Roberto del Rio Hospital (COAR) home in Santiago, Chile, a residential care facility serving children undergoing cancer treatments and their families; presentation of significant historic artifacts to national collections in the Middle East and Europe; and most recently the establishment of the Astronaut Al Worden Endeavour Scholarship Foundation, which pays expenses for select students and teachers to spend a week pursuing their dreams at Space Camp in Huntsville, AL, USA.

Kallman Worldwide is a strategic partner of the U.S. Department of Commerce, and a proud recipient of the President’s “E” Award for its role in helping to increase U.S. exports. The company is headquartered in Waldwick, NJ, and staffs a Latin America office in Santiago, Chile. For more information visit www.kallman.com.