Enterprising students take part in Saudi ideation challenge

More than 90 students recently took part in an ideation challenge hosted by a leading Saudi research institution.

The three-day event at King Abdullah University of Science and Technology was held in partnership with the Ministry of Hajj and Umrah, the Saline Water Conversion Corp., and Saudia Aerospace Engineering Industries.

Designed to push the limits of innovation and creative thinking, the KAUST Ignite initiative challenged students to take on some of the biggest regional and global issues.

Armed with their own entrepreneurial thinking, education experience, and passion for problem-solving, team members worked toward cutting-edge solutions and on the final day shared their thinking processes with an emphasis on next steps, goals, and the positive impact their solution could have on the world.

Hattan Ahmed, director of the KAUST Entrepreneurship Center, said: “Each KAUST Ignite event starts with a simple question: How do we spark solutions that can change the world?

“We are very fortunate to have partners the Ministry of Hajj, SAEI, and SWCC to design key challenges and provide mentorship opportunities.

“Seeing the level of innovation that can emerge in just a few days is inspiring and gives us all great hope for the future.”

The 94 students participating in the event, that ended on Saturday, came from more than 18 Saudi universities and were all graduates of KAUST’s latest online course, Entrepreneurship Adventures.

They were assigned to teams of five based on their individual skills and academic backgrounds. Once grouped, teams were given real-world challenges presented by KAUST Ignite partners representing water, aviation, and the Hajj experience.

One of the challenges, to reimagine the food experience at holy sites to ensure a better quality of service, greater availability, and improved nutritional needs, was presented by the Ministry of Hajj and won by team Biscuit with its biodegradable and recyclable utensil package.

Another challenge, put forward by the SWCC, was to improve desalination through the optimization of alternative energy sources and address the impact of jellyfish on freshwater production. The winning team was Mangrove which came up with the idea for a jellyfish trap that allowed for relocation.

The third challenge was focused on enhancing technologies to improve wildlife detection and curb bird strikes, presented by SAEI. The Future Seekers team was the victor with a solution that used radiofrequency fields to disrupt birds at aviation sites.