March 5th, 2017: An affordable hydroponic system to produce fresh, home-grown crops has emerged as the winner of the 2017 Ryerson Global Innovation Challenge (RGIC), conducted by Ryerson University in collaboration with Canadian University Dubai (CUD).
Students from CUD worked alongside their counterparts from the Toronto-based University in a bid to develop social impact innovations applicable to the Arab World. The transnational collaboration was part of the third edition of RGIC, an initiative established by Ryerson University to encourage young innovators to think of, and potentially commercialize, ideas that have a social impact at an international level.
As part of the competition, nineteen students representing the top four teams from Ryerson traveled to Dubai to collaborate with Arab youth at CUD. The UAE-based students provided strategic insights and practical support to help fine-tune the innovations so that they better reflected the context and the market they sought to impact.
From the four innovations that reached the finals of the competition, it was the StackFarm team that emerged triumphant. Showcasing their unique prototype, the team impressed a high-profile panel of judges with their cost-effective solution to address the issues of growing food in arid climates. The team will now receive 5,000 Canadian Dollars to incubate the idea.
Dr. Anas Najdawi, Chair of E-Business, who managed the project on behalf of CUD said, “The aim of this initiative is to help students from Ryerson to participate in solving real problems in the Arab world through social entrepreneurial business ideas. CUD students have assisted their Ryerson counterparts by organizing field visits and introducing them to useful local contacts to help develop the prototype of their product or service.”
Osman Hamid, Director of Student Engagement and Alumni Development at Ryerson University’s Ted Rogers School of Management said, “CUD is an extremely important part of this year’s Ryerson Global Innovation Challenge. The faculty and staff have given our student teams the support needed to further their ideas.”
Representing the winning team, Revant Kumars said, “The competition offered me an opportunity to collaborate with peers from various academic disciplines and with students and local entrepreneurs in the UAE. This experience will be invaluable in helping our team to develop a better product that we hope will help local residents gain access to fresh, affordable produce.”
Team member from close runner up ‘Akhdar’, a system to alleviate dependence on non-renewable energy sources, will receive mentoring support from Middle East Venture Partners. Other innovations that reached the final were an online platform designed to connect students and recent graduates in the Arab region to forge strong professional networks, and an online management tool to provide young entrepreneurs, access to resources, funds and mentorship.
Click here to watch a video of the competition.
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