IMechE Palestine chapter holds its first Speak Out For Engineering competition

Winner Khaled Yasseen will go on to compete in Germany

The Palestianian chapter of the IMechE recently ran its first Speak Out For Engineering (SOFE) competition, targeting students at five of its universities.

The SOFE competition asks students to talk and present on various engineering topics of their choice, which is assessed by a select committee of professors and experienced engineers. Contestants are graded on their presentation ability, fluency and diction, how they communicate with the audience, and whether they effectively get across their points.

Abdelnaser Dwaikat, the country representative for the IMechE in Palestine, said: “We held this event as I believe in giving the students the chance to be prepared for the future. We hope that it will develop presentation skills for the students, teach them skills and help participants to consistently deliver highly successful presentations.”

Chairman of the Engineers Association in the city of Nablus, Sami Hijawi added: “Such activity enhances student’s abilities and increases the rhetoric and diction skills they have.”

The final competition saw 10 students compete from Palestine Technical University, Islamic University of Gaza, Palestine Polytechnic University, An-Najah National University and Birzeit University. Some of the most interesting topics presented on included elevator technology, electrical road ramps and CAD in manufacturing.


Khaled Yaseen from An- Najah National University, winner of the SOFE competition, pictured in red

The winner of the Palestine SOFE competition was Khaled Yaseen from An- Najah National University with his talk on elevator technology.  

Dwaikat said: “He was well prepared, using eye contact with the audience, and had a good structure and content of presentation. He also showed preparation and was able to handle questions well.”

Yaseen will now go on to compete at the next stage of the SOFE competition held in Germany during November.

Dwaikat said that he hopes to hold another SOFE competition in the future to include Gaza and the West Bank.

For more information about SOFE go to www.imeche.org/get-involved/young-members-network/speak-out-for-engineering-entrants