In line with its commitment to supporting its students and giving them every opportunity to excel and exceed in the business and entrepreneurship world, the Australian University (AU) organized the Fall 2022 Innovation and Entrepreneurship Competition “Lead Your Future” under the direction of AU President, Prof. Isam Zabalawi.
The event aimed to promote students’ innovation in conceiving business ideas by having them present their research and solutions to a panel of expert judges for support and helpful insight. Furthermore, the students were required throughout their preparations to research the feasibility of their business ideas with regards to goals, requirements, costs, marketing, and business structure to ensure their proposed ideas can successfully be implemented in real life.
Planned and organized under the supervision of Dr. Bashayer Al Khalifa, Manager of the Innovation and Entrepreneurship Center at AU, it commenced with an opening keynote speech by Dr. Hamad Al Hasawi, Secretary General at Kuwait Banking Association, followed by a welcome speech of Dr. Bashayer.
The competition witnessed participation of number of AU students from its College of Business and College of Engineering and included the presentation of 21 innovative and unique projects for the judges to rate and select the winners from. The judgement committee consisted of specialists in their relevant fields, and included Dr. Yaser Al Kulaib, Faculty Member at the College of Administrative Sciences at Kuwait University; Mr. Hamad Al Mutawa’a, Executive Manager, Head of Business Banking at Warba Bank; Mr. Khaled Al-Zanki, Founder and CEO of Launch; Mr. Mohammed Al Jasem, Founder and CEO of Tech Office for Technology Services; Mr. Nawaf Al Arbash, General Manager of Abhar Co.; Dr. Richard Rutter, Associate Professor of Management at AU; Mr. Mahmed Al Muqahwi, Business Partner at Cubical Services; and Ms. Rola Mourdaa, Manager of the Teaching and Learning Center at AU.
Following the presentation of the projects, winners were selected as the first-place award went to a project called “Gorilla’s Powerlifting Gym” by College of Business students: Mohammad Al Qattan, Ala’ Al Bahrani, and Mohammad Al Kandari; second place was presented to “Devon Airless Tires” by College of Engineering students Hadeel Mar’i and Khaled Al Shimmari; and third place went to “Protect your Child – PYC” by College of Business students Rana Al Mallah and Yasmeen Abu Al Habib.
In conclusion, highlighting the goals of the competition, Dr. Bashayer Al Khalifa stated: “Entrepreneurship is the foundation of every economy and society, and companies along with small and medium businesses are important contributors to economic development locally and globally; and in order for AU to enhance the growth of its students and alumni, we are supporting them in their ambitious pursuits to form their successful businesses, hence, we have established the Kuwait Australian Holding Company aiming to bring education and industry together to benefit students and graduates, and to increase the opportunities provided by the university for future advancement.”
