Culture & Education | Wednesday 3 April, 2019 11:10 am |

 Abu Dhabi University (ADU) hosted the Entrepreneurship Fair last week which brought together business-owners including ADU alumni and current students, providing them with a platform to promote their businesses, interact with aspiring entrepreneurs, and build their network in innovative ways.

Prior to the event, Dr. Rubina Qureshi and Dr. Lina Al Fayoumi from the ADU University College, had incorporated this initiative into the Innovation and Entrepreneurship course as a co-curricular activities to promote a spirit of creative thinking. Following weeks of intensive training in design thinking, students were able to develop and present 12 innovative business ideas at the Entrepreneurship Fair.

The innovation competition’s judges included Vinayak Pareek, ADU Manager of Institutional Strategy, and Nemanja Krstic, ADU Sports and Recreational Activities Officer. Winners were selected for three different categories that included ‘Most Innovative Product’, ‘Best Presentation’ and ‘Best Business Idea.

Undergraduate Mechanical Engineering students Ahmad Mohammad Al Ramahi, Yousef Mezher, Ahmad Fouzi Bakri, Mustafa Awni, and Sharif Omar Elshiwihy, as well as Business Management student Mohamed Miri took home the award for the ‘Most Innovative Product’. The team’s winning idea was the ADU Smart Payment system that would facilitate faster tuition payment transactions for students during peak admission periods.

The ‘Best Presentation’ award went to ADU Human Resources student and young entrepreneur Alia Mohammed, Co-owner of fashion and lifestyle start-up Le Boutique.

 

Finally, the last category ‘Best Business Idea’ was awarded to Ausra Crikelyte, an ADU Mass Communications student, for her innovative ‘King of Sleep’ idea, a pediatric sleep consulting concept.

Commenting on the Entrepreneurship Fair, Kellye Blackburn, ADU’s Senior Manager for Employability and Alumni Relations, said, “I am extremely proud of the talented ADU alumni entrepreneurs who joined us at the ADU Entrepreneurship Fair to showcase their creative and innovative business ideas. It’s very impressive to see these truly inspirational self-made stories of students who are not only high performers at college but are also entrepreneurs who use some of their business profits to fund their education tuition.”

ADU alumni entrepreneurs taking part included Sawsan Rasti, Flakes Hub Restaurant; Dima Samer Ali, Silver Smith Works Jewelry; Ayman Eladly with Eladly Park, a virtual parking spot locator service; and Shahenaz Safe, Travel Services and Real Estate Company.

Blackburn added, “The ADU Employability and Alumni Relations Department looks forward to hosting future events that will allow ADU’s alumni and students to showcase their businesses and serve as role models for future student entrepreneurs”.  

Dr. Qureshi, Senior Sociology Instructor in ADU’s University College said, “The ADU Entrepreneurship Fair was indeed a great experience. This was a wonderful opportunity for students to present and test their business prototypes and get constructive feedback from a consumer perspective that can help them improve their concepts. We hope to see this event become part of a bi-annual event that would be embedded into the course requirements for the University College Innovation and Entrepreneurship course.”

The ADU Entrepreneurship Fair is part of ADU’s Alumni Relations Strategy, which aims to support ADU alumni ventures and highlight their achievements, foster enduring links, and strengthen relationships amongst ADU graduates.