Three student projects received top-tier recognition in the recent University Innovation Challenge Program for Sustainable Development. Fifteen universities participated in the competition that was organized by the Ministry of Education in partnership with United Nations Development Program, Prince Mohammed bin Salman College of Business and Entrepreneurship in Makkah, and Babson College for Entrepreneurship Education in Wellesley, Massachusetts, USA.
Students from Qassim University, in Buraidah, took home a first-place prize for their aquatic innovative mechanism for the sustainable extraction of water from air. Students from King Abdulaziz University, in Jeddah, won second place for innovative solutions to obtain clean energy at an affordable cost by providing a vertical-axis power generator. Students from another Jeddah university, Dar Al-Hekma University, came in third place for their concept of treating desertification by relying on wind energy.
The program was launched by forming strategic partnerships with local and international organizations to strengthen pioneering and innovative capabilities at universities. The goal is to engage students and faculty members in high-quality, global educational experiences that will contribute to the development of start-up university projects. At the same time, the program provides the opportunity to address the challenges of sustainable development.
