Fountain of youth

IT’S a familiar sight the world over: children splashing around in a fountain on a hot summer’s day.

But unfortunately, playing in fountains is something that most of us feel inclined to stop doing at a certain age.
But imagine a giant fountain on a beach, big enough for everyone to enjoy, where children and adults can enjoy refreshing jets of cool water.
This was the winning idea that secured University College of Bahrain student, Mohammed Al Zamil, 21, a coveted apprenticeship with the biggest tourism and marketing event in the region, Dubai Summer Surprises (DSS).
This week, the third-year marketing student will travel to Dubai to be the official representative from Bahrain at the event.
Mohammed was selected from hundreds of applicants to spend two weeks on the apprenticeship programme which comes under the directives of HH Shaikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, vice-president and prime minister of the UAE, and ruler of Dubai.
“My teacher told me about the competition,” explained Mohammed, “so I applied and wrote an essay that emphasised the climate on Dubai. I wanted to focus on a series of water surprises and activities which would involve children, families and all tourists coming in during this period.
“If you walk down Marina Walk in Dubai you can see small children playing in the fountain. My idea was to place huge water fountains on the beach for everyone.”
Mohammed and five other students were nominated by UCB to take part in the programme while a panel of judges evaluated the candidates based on academic excellence, quality and originality of submitted essays. Twenty universities are participating in the programme and candidates will participate in marketing and events management with DSS. Mohammed will continue to introduce new ideas and themes to encourage more tourists to come to the region.
“It’s an honour to be selected,” said Mohammed, “I was so thrilled it was the most exciting moment for me. It’s so wonderful to be able to spend theses two weeks in Dubai. It’s a great opportunity.”
Scott Sullivan, MBA programme director at UCB, said: “Mohammed will make an outstanding apprentice. He is an excellent student with great leadership skills. We wish him all the best.”

By -RdS-
editor@gulfweekly.com