Canadian University Dubai students get Dhs10,000 for innovation
- 26 Nov 2023
Jamil Khan, Senior Reporter
The award was made during the Finale of the University’s programme of events for Global Entrepreneurship Week, which saw 10 teams pitch their innovations to a panel of industry experts, investors and established entrepreneurs.
Known as Byte, the winning innovation builds on existing artificial intelligence technology to deliver a smart solution to meal planning.
It aims to promote the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (UN SDGs) targeted at food security and responsible consumption.
The project pitch was delivered by Ralph Sengco, second year Bachelor of Science in Cyber Security student. He represented a cross-disciplinary team that also included business students Hanna Gajol and Rachelle Hombria.
Explaining the inspiration behind the project, Sengco said, “The idea came from my own experience of mealtimes as a busy student, thinking about what to cook based on what is in the fridge, keeping in mind product expiry dates, and the need to create something quick, delicious and nutritious.
The technology we have developed offers a one-stop solution that creates recipes tailored to the ingredients available, as well as other criteria based on the user’s preferences. It also takes account of dietary requirements and food allergies and intolerances.”
The innovation was awarded first place in the business pitch competition, which was judged by an esteemed panel of industry professionals that included, Rashid Al Awadh, CEO of E3M Consultancy; Hussein Wehbe, Founder and CEO of Plug Mena; Jihad Tayara CEO of Evoteq; Camille Beyrouthy, Co-Founder of The Business Hub; Nicki Wilson, Founder of Genie Recruitment; Mohamed Hilal, CEO of Mohamed Hilal Group; and Fahad Al Zaai, Innovation Specialist at Intelak Hub.
The prize of Dhs10,000 was sponsored by The Business Hub and all finalists were given the opportunity to explore crowd funding for their idea through the DubaiNext platform.
Among the other innovations commended by the judging panel was CogniLink, a tool that combines psychology and technology to empower people with autism.
Also recognised in the top three places was F.R.A.C.T.U.R.E, a first response device to deploy medical attention to casualties in hot climates.
Other UN SDGs tackled through the projects shortlisted include sustainability, health and well-being, education, climate action and tackling inequality.
