Beirut, 26 April 2018 (United Nations Information Centre)– For the fifth year, the Modern University for Business and Science (MUBS) has organized in cooperation with the United Nations Information Centre in Beirut (UNIC Beirut), the “Young Entrepreneur Contest” at the Ministry of Education and Higher Education, Beirut.
The purpose of the contest is to stimulate the innovative and creative spirit among public and private high school students and students of professional institutes, through unleashing their imagination to design small projects that will build their capacities and promote entrepreneurship. This year’s innovative ideas revolved around the following topics: technology, business, social responsibility, education, health and lifestyle, fashion and leisure, environment, arts and design.
The ceremony began with a speech by the Chairman of the Board of Trustees of MUBS, Dr. Hatem Alamy, who stressed the importance of giving young students an opportunity to express their creative ideas and enhance their critical thinking through participating in this competition. Dr. Alamy also highlighted the importance of developing an environment conducive to entrepreneurship, adding that it is the primary responsibility of the State to strengthen such environment by developing and strengthening the faith of young citizens in their country. The private sector is an important partner as well and is responsible for encouraging new ideas and maintaining public responsibility in job creation. Finally, Dr. Alamy stressed the importance of this occasion in strengthening bridges between secondary, vocational and university education, as well as motivating young people to start small projects with social impact, which positively reflects on building their abilities to be leaders in their field.
Thirteen schools participated in this event: Zahia Salman Official Secondary School, Professional Cultural School, Al-Mokhtara Official Secondary School, Baissour Official Secondary School, Ecole Saint Vincent de La Charite, Institut Technique de Choueifat, Cedars Cultural School, Sawfar Official Secondary School, AMJAD High School, Lebanese Innovators Society, SSCC Bauchrieh, Kornayel Public High School, and Baissour Technical School.
UNIC Beirut Public Information Officer Ms. Cynthia Darrous Khoury, representing the Centre’s Director Ms. Margo Helou, highlighted the importance of encouraging youth initiatives and supporting an entrepreneurship spirit. “There is no one too young to engage in serving their community and proposing innovative ideas. The UN places high importance on innovation and youth engagement, and this is why it leads many efforts to involve them in shaping their communities, such as the recent UN Listens Campaign and the UN Aware initiative with schools in Lebanon.”
Students presented 13 projects, the jury chose the best three and one project won the people’s vote. The jury presented the awards to the three winners in addition to certificates of appreciation to all the schools that participated.
The first prize, a $1,000 cheque, went to “One Blood One Lebanon” by AMJAD High School. The project aims to establish a data bank for blood donations based on the collected data of applicants to Lebanese secondary official examinations, by transforming the official candidate ID to a smart ID that contains data about the candidate’s blood type and rhesus factor, etc.
In second place was the “Smarty Buggy” by Zahia Salman Official Secondary School. This is a smart, hands-free kids’ stroller designed using open-source technology. It includes voice support and features that enhance protection and safety. The winners received a $600 prize.
Third place, a $400 cheque, went to “Industrial Mixer of the Future” by Institut Technique de Choueifat. The mixer operates on a three-phase asynchronous motor and feature innovative design, simplicity of use and savings in energy consumption. It can be used for industrial or commercial use.
The winner of the most popular vote was “Re-imagining pre-schools: Children books come to life!” by the Professional Cultural School, and winners received two tour tickets inside Lebanon from Five stars tours. This initiative involves creating a pre-school based on organic classroom structures that foster creativity, self-independence and communication skills.
The committee was composed of Executive Director of the Foreign Affairs Department at Banque Du Liban Mr. Khaled Bohsali, Public Information Officer of UNIC Beirut Ms. Cynthia Darrous Khoury, Chairman and General Manager of Kafalat Dr. Khattar Abi Habib and Inventor and Innovator Engineer Dr. Ali Zaraket.