February 13th, 2017: Six teams of students from Canadian University Dubai (CUD) are developing a unique range of technological innovations in response to the Seeds for the Future Education Challenge, an initiative of the UAE Ministry of Education and the Telecommunications Regulatory Authority, supported by leading global ICT solutions provider, Huawei.
The challenge was launched last November and calls upon students to work in teams to develop projects that will help to improve community wellbeing. CUD is one of only six higher education institutions invited to take part in the prestigious competition, in which competitors stand the chance to win a two-week trip to China, as well as career-defining opportunities for business mentoring and incubation.
The projects in development at CUD reflect the competition’s goal to address various horizontal themes that align with the national strategic development plan of the UAE, Vision 2021. The innovations include:
- A parking app to help drivers locate spaces in their chosen area of the city and to ease traffic congestion;
- An interactive wall for hotel guests to access information and entertainment, and to promote environmental sustainability;
- An e-commerce app dedicated to sourcing clothing and accessories for specific consumer groups;
- An app that aims to improve city life for residents and visitors by warning of both traffic and public congestion through live data feeds;
- An air monitoring app that can alert people to areas of environmental pollution;
- A Government gateway app and website providing a one-stop-shop for all Dubai Government services.
The six teams of students from across the University’s undergraduate schools were selected from 11 groups who submitted ideas for the first phase of the competition. They were then given the opportunity to meet with and hear from business leaders in one of two innovation camps hosted at Huawei Open Lab in January.
Speaking about the experience, student Mehak Fatima Ashfaq, who is working on the air monitoring app, ‘Ibreathe’, said, “We were given a very helpful insight into the important aspects to consider when building our business plan. Covering everything from the marketing side to technological development, we learnt about the key things that would help our innovation stand out from the crowd.”
Maryam Dakhan, who is among the team developing the congestion alert app, ‘Wherego’, said, “At the innovation camp we heard real-world accounts from established entrepreneurs and business support professionals, who provided us with some extremely useful insights, including the importance of always making connections.”
The teams are now putting the final touches to their business plans and product prototypes to enter the next phase of the innovation challenge, which will see them present their products to a panel of expert judges on February 19th. Three teams will be selected for the final step, which will be held in Abu Dhabi on March 7th, where one team will win the trip to China.
Gallery
