• More than 1,000 students from 57 UAE universities participated in the initiative’s second cycle
  • Selected projects impact people of determination, sustainability, transport, healthcare and more

DUBAI – Twenty-eight student teams from 16 universities across the UAE have secured the funding and support needed to take their creative solutions to the next level, thanks to Expo 2020 Dubai’s innovation and partnership programme Expo Live.

The teams, comprising about 100 students, are to each receive grants of up to AED 50,000, plus guidance and exposure, to advance their ideas after participating in the second cycle of the University Innovation Programme (UIP), which was conducted by Expo Live with the support of the UAE Ministry of Higher Education and Scientific Research.

The latest projects to receive Expo Live’s backing include a mobility device that allows people of determination to use a single wheelchair for an entire airline journey, paper that uses sand from the UAE as a replacement for wood pulp, and an auditory mobile app that enhances a user’s hearing capacity by sending vibrations to their brain.

The successful applicants will receive guidance from Expo Live, as well as their universities, to advance research and development, create a business model, grow their team and potentially partner with other entities. Grantees may even have the chance to showcase their innovations to millions of people at Expo 2020 Dubai.

His Excellency Dr Ahmad bin Abdullah Humaid Belhoul Al Falasi, UAE Minister of State for Higher Education and Advanced Skills, said: “The creative solutions submitted to Expo Live as part of the University Innovation Programme are a testament to the pioneering capabilities of UAE youth. It is young people with enterprising minds and an innovative outlook who will be responsible for leading the country’s transformation into a knowledge economy and in meeting the aspirations of the leadership towards UAE Vision 2021 and UAE Centennial 2071.

“The calibre of projects selected during the programme’s second cycle reflects the high standard of tertiary education in the UAE and I sincerely congratulate each and every awardee for their hard work and achievements. My colleagues and I are extremely keen to see how their innovations will progress on the journey to Expo 2020 and beyond.”

Yousuf Caires, Vice President – Expo Live, Expo 2020 Dubai, said: “This programme epitomises Expo 2020’s theme of ‘Connecting Minds, Creating the Future’, and it is truly exciting to witness first-hand the levels of innovation that are being cultivated among university students here in the UAE.

“Young innovators who secured Expo Live’s support as part of the UIP’s first cycle are already advanced in developing creative solutions to global challenges that impact our region. We look forward to working closely with grantees from the second cycle as they take their projects to the next level, and we cannot wait to see how they turn their ideas and prototypes into reality.”

Khalifa University’s GenoMatch, one of the groups selected during the latest cycle, is developing a method to more easily identify compatible organ donors for transplant patients in the UAE. Team members Hasan Alattas and Halima Alnaqbi said: “We are absolutely thrilled to receive Expo Live’s support as it will help us bring our solution to life. It is so exciting to have an idea with the potential to save lives, and we have now secured the funding and guidance necessary to advance our vision.”

More than 500 student groups from 57 universities across the UAE submitted applications as part of the UIP’s second cycle, with proposed solutions addressing at least one of Expo 2020’s three key subthemes: Opportunity, Mobility and Sustainability. Finalists pitched their projects to a panel of judges at the Expo 2020 Dubai Visitor Centre.

Applications were evaluated by a panel of judges from Expo 2020, its commercial partners and other stakeholders. Representatives from DP World, Emirates Airline, Emirates NBD, PepsiCo, SAP and Siemens offered feedback to each of the finalists on how they could improve and advance their proposed solutions.

The 28 projects selected join the 19 groups that secured support during the UIP’s first cycle, meaning that Expo Live has now committed grants, guidance and exposure to 47 student teams from across the UAE.

Expo Live is a USD 100 million innovation and partnership programme launched by Expo 2020 Dubai to make a lasting social impact by funding, accelerating and promoting creative solutions that improve lives or preserve the planet, or both.

Based on the belief that innovation can come from anywhere to everyone, Expo Live will continue to deploy a combination of grants, challenges, university programmes and knowledge-sharing events on the journey to 2020.

To learn more about the University Innovation Programme, or to find out about Expo Live’s other initiatives, visit expo2020dubai.com/expo-live.

-Ends-

About Expo 2020 Dubai

Expo 2020 Dubai is guided by the belief that innovation and progress are the result of people and ideas combining in new ways. For six months from 20 October, 2020, Expo will bring together 190 countries and millions of people to celebrate human ingenuity: ‘Connecting Minds, Creating the Future’.

  • During the six months from 20 October, 2020 to 10 April, 2021, we expect to welcome 25 million visits
  • About 70 per cent of all visitors are anticipated to come from outside the UAE – the largest proportion of international visitors in Expo history
  • We aim to create and deliver an inclusive and global Expo with more than 200 participants, including nations, multilateral organisations, businesses and educational institutions
  • Expo 2020 also has an ambitious volunteer programme, which aims to include more than 30,000 volunteers from a wide range of ages, nationalities, cultures and backgrounds
  • The Expo site covers a total of 4.38 sqkm, including a 2 sqkm gated area. It is located adjacent to Al Maktoum International Airport in Dubai South
  • Expo 2020 Dubai is the first World Expo to take place in the MEASA (Middle East, Africa and South Asia) region

Visit: www.expo2020dubai.com

Follow: Twitter: @expo2020dubai | Facebook: @Expo2020Dubai | Instagram: expo2020dubai

About World Expos

In 1851 the Crystal Palace was the centrepiece of London’s Great Exhibition – the first World Expo. It celebrated the man-made industrial wonders of a rapidly changing world. Architecture, contents and a theme, ‘Industry of All Nations’, were combined to create a big idea of nations meeting nations in shared technological and commercial progress. In more recent years, participants in World Expos, including governments, international organisations and companies, have gathered to find solutions to universal challenges and to promote their achievements, products, ideas, innovations, their national brand, and their nations as destinations for tourism, trade and investment.

World Expos are held under the auspices of the Bureau International des Expositions (BIE), the intergovernmental organisation responsible for overseeing and regulating international exhibitions (‘Expos’) and for fostering their core values of Education, Innovation and Cooperation. Today, four types of Expos are organised under the BIE’s auspices: World Expos, Specialised Expos, Horticultural Expos and the Triennale di Milano.

For media enquiries, please contact: 

Courtney Trenwith                                                                                              Rania Moussly | Haneen Joudieh

Editor-in-Chief (English)                                                                                      ASDA’A BCW 
Email: courtney.trenwith@expo2020dubai.ae                                              rania.moussly@bm.com | Haneen.joudieh@bm.com
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© Press Release 2018

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