BUiD supports the Intercontinental Spelling Bee 2021 as the academic partner

Organised by Mind Guider Consultancy in the UAE, the Intercontinental Spelling Bee (ICSB) is a charitable organisation which organises competitions for secondary school children in Africa and the Middle East.

The British University in Dubai is proud to be the academic partner of the ICSB 2021. The support covered the whole event from the launch in February 2021 where Hugh Martin, the Registrar and Chief Administrative Officer, was the guest of honour, through to the finals of the competition which was held in Dubai on 23-24 September.

The event brought together more than 50 secondary school students from Africa (including Ghana, Nigeria, and South Africa) and the UAE who had passed the preliminary rounds in their own countries and were able to make the journey to Dubai under the current pandemic protocols. Over two days, students undertook written and oral tests culminating in the traditional spelling bee.

A team from BUiD, led by the Registrar and Chief Administrative Officer, formed the judging panel. Staff from BUiD also gave a motivational speech and ran a workshop pitting teams of students against each other in a fun and exciting engineering challenge.

BUiD’s team consisted of:

Hugh Martin – head of party, chief judge, guest of honour

Dr Tendai Charles – judge, motivational speaker

Danielle Wilson-Gulston – judge, workshop leader

Sepideh Samadi – judge, workshop leader

Tanisha Simon – photographer/videographer

Prizes were awarded by HE the Consul-General of the Republic of South Africa, HE the Consul-General of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, and the Registrar and Chief Administrative Officer of The British University in Dubai.