The Darwazah Student Innovation Contest is organized and sponsored by Samih Darwazah Center for Innovation Management and Entrepreneurship of the Olayan School of Business. The competition is open to all AUB undergraduate and graduate students. Participants to the competition submit a proposal for an innovative product, service, or a business process. The purpose of this competition is to encourage entrepreneurship and innovation among AUB students. It also aims at encouraging collaboration between students from different disciplines, to share knowledge and come up with a well-rounded and complete business proposal for a new product or service.
Milestones
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April 17, 2019: Final ceremony and distribution of awards – Register
Important Dates & Deadlines
-
April 17, 2019: Final ceremony and distribution of awards – Register
- Ideation Workshops Researching of the distinctive practices of local and regional startup Teaching Case Development
- Mentoring
- Business Model Development
- Pitch Training
- Ecosystem Support
- $20,000 Prizes
- Open to all AUB undergraduate and graduate students
- Application
Milestones
- December 20, 2019: Contest launch
- February 14, 2019: Extended deadline for applications
- February 16, 2019: Announcement of live pitches sessions participants
- February 22-23, 2019: Live pitches pre-selection session
- February 26, 2019: Announcement of semi-finalists
- March 2, 2019: Training workshop for semi-finalists
- March 3-9, 2019: Refinement of proposals
- March 10, 2019: Deadline for submission of detailed proposal
- March 13, 2019: Announcement of finalists
- March 23, 2019: Pitch training for finalists
- March 24 - April 4, 2019: Refinement/team interview
- April 6, 2019: Finalists pitches to juryz
- April 17, 2019: Final ceremony and distribution of awards
Prizes
- $20,000 total amount awarded to the winning teams
- All members of the finalist teams will be awarded certificates of achievement
How to Register
To register for the competition, one student from each team should submit the online application available under "
Apply " on the left-side menu on this website before the mentioned deadline.
Competition Rounds
The competition will be conducted in three rounds as follows:
- Online registration and submission of initial proposal - Open to all AUB students
- Written extended proposal – Open to selected semi-finalists
- Pitch to jury and closing ceremony – Open to selected finalists (everyone is welcome to attend)
Eligibility
- All team members must be current AUB undergraduate or graduate students
- There is NO limit or restriction on the number of team members; teams typically range from one to five members
- Team members cannot be in more than one team
- Previously accelerated/funded startups aren’t eligible
Requirements Each Round
Round 1
- Registration
- Proposal: including business purpose and product/service description market opportunity, market (size, customer profile, and competition)
- Ideation Sessions
- 1 minute in-person pitch to jury
Round 2
- 1 Day training workshop
- Refinement session
- Detailed Proposal Submission
Round 3
- Pitch training
- Pitch to Panel of Judges
- Refinement session
- Final team interview
- Awards ceremony
Important Dates & Deadlines
-
February 14, 2019: Extended deadline for applications
- February 26, 2019: Training workshop for semi-finalists
- March 10, 2019: Deadline for submission of detailed proposal
- March 23, 2019: Pitch training for finalists
- March 24-April 4, 2019: Refinement/team interview
- April 5, 2019: Finalists pitches to jury
- April 17, 2019: Final ceremony and distribution of awards
Do you want to participate in the contest? Do you have any questions relating to your idea or the process?
Sign up to the ideation session!
When: February 4, 2019
Time: 5:00 PM – 8:00 PM
Where: OSB, 4th floor, Room 425
Facilitator: Husam Wali
Description:
As part of The Darwazah Student Innovation Contest’s 6th edition, we’re holding an ideation session for the students/entrepreneurs-to-be. The purpose of the session is to help interested students come up with a new startup idea or enhance an existing one in order for them to apply to the Darwazah Student Innovation Contest. They will engage in a creative process in order to generate, filter, and communicate startup ideas.
Creative Process of Startup Ideation:
- Brainstorming session
- Innovative Idea Generation
- Filter
- Communication
- Assistance with DSA application
All applicants are advised to register for this information and ideation session.