Tuesday, April 20, 2021: Canadian University Dubai (CUD) would like to extend our heartfelt congratulations to students Razan Khawatmi (International Business), Sidra Fareed (Marketing), Simran Dsouza (Accounting and Finance), Hajer Ben Mnaouer (Mechatronics Engineering), and Adel Yousefi (Mechatronics Engineering), whose team “Social Clout” claimed the top honours in ProjectSet’s ICE-21 Innovation Challenge for Entrepreneurship 2021.
The virtual hackathon ran for six weeks and hosted more than 250 students from 36 universities across the Gulf Corporation Council (GCC). Social Clout was selected from 78 teams in phase one and won against the top 13 teams in phase two for presenting the best business idea in the "Social Impact" category. The top four teams from phase two have been invited to compete against peers from all over the world later this year.
Social Clout’s winning concept, “Hala Green”, is an environmental sustainability mobile application that combines the Arabic word "Hala" with an environmental aspect to show where Social Clout's sustainability idea came from (United Arab Emirates).
During the event, Social Clout went through a structured program, participating in mentor sessions, skill clinics, and keynotes from partner organizations such as CEBC, MIT, Nissan, Renault, SAP, and Tetrapak. They also received guidance and helpful suggestions from mentor Bruno Grippay, Regional Director of Nissan in Africa - Middle East – India.
Speaking on behalf of the Social Clout team, Razan Khawatmi, International Business Student at Canadian University Dubai said: “ProjectSet was an outlet through which all of our team members were able to explore their creative tendencies. The project shaped our individual experiences, giving us the chance to try something different, and move out of our comfort zones. Through Hala Green, we intend to facilitate meaningful ideas to the world, one that would create maximum social impact.”
Not only do the team members of Social Clout come from different backgrounds, but they also come from different countries. Their unique personalities along with their varied expertise, diverse views, and expressions have proven to be a vital component to diversity within the mobile application.
Ms. Khawatmi continued: “There was a sense of acceptance and appreciation within the group which is why every single group member felt encouraged to pitch in their views on all details. Although every suggestion made by our team members was deeply respected, they were also open to various counterarguments because every member thought from a completely different perspective. The acceptance and constructive feedback we gave one another is what ensured that every single detail was refined; be it about the design of the application, the business plan, the business model canvas, or even every bit of the presentation.”
Despite their differences, Social Clout shares the same love and passion for the community and human welfare. The group was able to carry out what they wanted from the world through their app: to bring people together despite their differences and do something good for the earth.
CUD encourages entrepreneurship and innovation, promoting an educational environment that is conducive to learning, research and application. With a wide range of programs available, we believe in providing exciting opportunities for students to progress and grow both academically and professionally. On behalf of the University community, we congratulate Social Clout on their success and look forward to supporting them as they move forward in the competition.
About Canadian University Dubai
Canadian University Dubai, established in 2006, is a higher academic intuition located in Dubai, United Arab Emirates. Ranked 42nd overall in the Arab region and 9th in the UAE (according to the 2021 QS World University Rankings), CUD offers a broad range of academic programs at undergraduate and graduate levels based on the Canadian curriculum and serves as a gateway for students to pursue higher education, research, and employment opportunities in Canada.
About ProjectSet
ProjectSet is an award-winning online platform for students, employers, and educators to connect and collaborate virtually on work-based learning projects. The platform allows employers and educators to set up projects, assemble teams and steer the projects in a fully-equipped virtual workspace. Through these projects, students acquire soft skills, and employers qualify students for their talent pipeline. ICE-21 is part of a portfolio of solutions offered by ProjectSet.
News Releases
- Gulf News: CUD Students Create App to Reward Sustainable Actions
- Bizpreneur: CUD Students Create App to Reward Sustainable Actions
- Mid-East Information: CUD Students Create App to Reward Sustainable Actions