Wednesday, December 20, 2023
The 4th edition of the President’s Innovation Challenge concluded on December 1, 2023. As President Fadlo R. Khuri noted in his welcoming remarks, “This competition is not your average startup competition; it's a catalyst for innovations that tackle the pressing challenges of our era, as it calls upon the extraordinary minds of the people in our community to bring forth solutions that can transcend boundaries and contribute to a better future for all humanity.”
The call for “innovators with groundbreaking ideas” to submit applications in one of four areas (healthtech, social innovation, artificial intelligence, and Web3) went out in late July. Applications from 119 teams were submitted. Over the course of the next four months, the original 119 were narrowed down to just 10 teams. It was a long and thorough process during which all of the participating teams had the opportunity to benefit from expert mentorship.
Four prizes were awarded on December 1:
- The first prize of $30,000 went to DOODA Solutions, led by founder, managing director, and alumna Nada Ghanem (BS Environmental Health ’10, MS Ecosystem Management ’15) that is using earthworms to revolutionize sustainable agriculture.
- Second prize was awarded to LUXEED Robotics, which included alumnus Roy Saab (BA English Literature ’00), and is leveraging the power of AI to exterminate weeds.
- The Chinyeh Hostler Award for Social Innovation went to Parency, a company that identifies appropriate support resources for new parents and is led by co-founder and alumna Ghina Hneini (BE Chemical Engineering ’17).
- The People’s Choice Award went to Dekenet Al Nes that is creating a cost-effective alternative to typical supermarkets. It is led by Layal Mostafa, who earned a diploma in green technologies at AUB.
“It was an honor winning the People’s Choice Award at the AUB President’s Innovation Challenge,” said Mostafa. “We are very grateful for every person who chose to vote and support Dekenet Al Nes proving that the ‘The People’s Shop’ is the People’s Choice.”
The participation of alumni enriches the President’s Innovation Challenge enormously. It is also an experience that alumni themselves treasure. Ghina Hneini, for example, described winning the Chinyeh Hostler Award as a “transformative experience that reaffirmed my connection with AUB’s innovative spirit. I am deeply thankful for the nurturing and creative environment that President Khuri has cultivated at AUB, fostering entrepreneurial skills and innovation. The AUB Innovation Park team’s commitment to supporting each startup’s journey, including my company Parency, was truly commendable.”
Nada Ghanem said that participating in the challenge “was a remarkable opportunity for me to reconnect with my AUB roots.” She went on to note that through the President’s Innovation Challenge, AUB was “investing in its community and providing a nurturing environment that encourages creativity and fosters a spirit of entrepreneurship.”
“Engaging with iPark brought refreshing new energy to this old alumnus,” said Roy Saab, who graduated from AUB more than 20 years ago. “Our journey from Build & Accelerate to the President’s Innovation Challenge and the Go to Market Program has brought a solid market-driven business education testimony to AUB’s legacy.”
“We would love to have even greater alumni participation in the President’s Innovation Challenge,” says Maha Zouwayhed, associate director of the Talal and Madiha Zein AUB Innovation Park who is herself an AUB alumna (MBA ’04). “I urge all alumni to look out for announcements about next year’s Innovation Challenge that we expect to send in July/August 2024.”