Ryerson University and CUD students felicitated
dubai — Unique projects on social impact innovations for Arab world, developed by students of Ryerson University, Toronto, and Canadian University Dubai (CUD) were highlighted at a recent event in Dubai.
The transnational collaboration is part of the Ryerson Global Innovation Challenge (RGIC), an initiative established by Ryerson University to encourage young innovators to develop and commercialise ideas that have a social impact at an international level.
Nineteen students representing the top four teams from Ryerson traveled to Dubai to collaborate with Arab youth at CUD. In the competition finale hosted by CUD, the teams presented their innovations to a panel of judges from the local business community. The winning innovation was ‘Stack Farm’, an affordable hydroponic system for city dwellers to grow fresh produce, with the wining team receiving C$5,000 to incubate their idea. The runners 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.
“This competition brings students together from different disciplines to develop a strong business idea that has the potential to make a societal impact on a global scale. CUD is an extremely important part of this year’s Ryerson Global Innovation Challenge,” said Osman Hamid, director of Student Engagement and Alumni Development at Ted Rogers School of Management, Ryerson University.