Texas A&M at Qatar students shine at Invent for the Planet 2025
Published Mar 03, 2025
Texas A&M University at Qatar (TAMUQ) students made a remarkable impact at this year’s Invent for the Planet (IFTP) competition, a global challenge that brings together engineering minds to develop innovative solutions for pressing global issues.
The Qatar-level event, hosted by Hamad Bin Khalifa University (HBKU) and TAMUQ, saw students work tirelessly over 48 hours to develop, design, and present groundbreaking technologies aimed at making a real-world impact.
Organized by Texas A&M University’s flagship campus in College Station, Texas (USA), IFTP 2025 featured students from 24 universities worldwide, each tackling urgent global challenges. Teams were formed based on shared interest in critical need statements and worked intensively with mentors and industry experts to create innovative solutions, culminating in the development of prototypes and final presentations to a panel of esteemed judges.
The standout winners of this year’s competition were Team DeepBlue, who swept multiple awards: First Place, Best Prototype, and Best Video Award. The team also secured a spot among the Top 6 globally and will be heading to the United States for the global finals in April.
Team members included Mohamed Rayan Barhdadi, Aiman Ali, Elyas Al-Amri (HBKU), Hayyam Tariq Iqbal, Mohammed Bakri, and Majd Abdulla (HBKU). Their project, Omni Wave 1.0, is an innovative wave energy conversion (WEC) system designed to address energy poverty in coastal regions. By harnessing clean, reliable, and affordable electricity from ocean waves, the system promotes sustainable energy solutions, enhancing economic growth and community well-being.
Second place was awarded to Team OctoMarine, which consisted of Selina Haddad (HBKU), Antonios Sichanis, Fatima Abuhaliqa, Kushal Guruvasudevan, Saoud Almusallam, and Zaineldin Elhanafi (HBKU). Third place went to Team Evervolt, who also won Best Presentation. Team members included Ali Salem, Yahya Obeid, Omar Allawi, and Khalifa AlBaker.
The students reflected on the transformative experience, highlighting the hands-on learning, technical growth, and teamwork that IFTP provided.
“IFTP taught me that engineering is not just about technical skills—it’s about developing innovative solutions that have a lasting impact on both the scientific community and society at large, driving positive change and improving lives around the world,” said Mohamed Rayan Barhdadi from Team DeepBlue.
Congratulations to all the participants for their incredible dedication and ingenuity. Best of luck to Team DeepBlue in the global finals!
