We're in business!

The Zayed University e-Biz Challenge. Reema Saffarini meets the winners.

A mobile service that helps you shop, pay your utility bills and credit cards; an online brokerage system and Bluetooth technologies to pay for parking were the top three projects recognised during the Fourth Annual e-biz Challenge organised by the Institute of Technological Innovations at Zayed University.

The University of Wollongong in Dubai, Dubai Women's College and UAE University won the first, second and third prizes respectively for the e-biz category, topping more than 350 teams that took part in the challenge.

University of Wollongong in Dubai also won first place in the competition's e-service category followed by the American University in Dubai and Preston University Ajman.

Shaikh Nahyan Bin Mubarak Al Nahyan, Minister of Higher Education and Scientific Research, Dr Hanif Hassan, Minister of Education, and Dr Sulaiman Al Jasim, vice-president of Zayed University, were among the dignitaries who attended the awards ceremony held recently.

"All entries showed high promise. The projects presented show how entrepreneurship and technological innovations can change how we work and learn, and what we expect from government, business and other institutions," said Shaikh Nahyan.

Notes was present at the awards ceremony and chatted with the winners.

UAE UNIVERSITY

Team: Fatima Rashid, Ahlam Mohammad and Hanadi Mohammad

Team name: The Legend

Plan name: TelePark

Adviser: Dr Nabeel Al Qirm

Project:
- Modifying the parking payment system via Bluetooth and IR technologies in cell phones.

- RFID technology, prepaid and subscription cards are also used.

Why this project?

Fatima: We discussed various ideas; we noticed how paying for parking is a hassle. Now that everybody has a mobile phone, why not use that to pay for parking? We formulated and presented a business plan for our project.

What have you learnt?

Fatima: Teamwork and how to work on a business plan.

What were the challenges?

Hanadi: We had to learn more about marketing and creating a business plan.

Future plans?

Hanadi: Maybe our project might become a reality one day.

UNIVERSITY OF WOLLONGONG IN DUBAI

Team: Elma Zahir, Neha Gulabani and Xiaotong Yang

Team name: The Ascendants

Plan name: mNow!

Adviser: Dr Melodena Balakrishnan

Project: It is a service that offers people a way to receive information about their interests, pay their credit cards and utility bills, transfer money, shop and operate auto-retailing machines. Low income expatriates, shoppers and advertisement agencies form the target market.

Lessons learned from the experience

Elma: It was mostly cultural. The team is made up of two girls and a guy. We were an Indian, Bangladeshi and Chinese. We had so much fun and learned a lot about each other.

Challenges you faced

Neha: We had to do lots of primary research and met lots of industrialists. We have actually learned a lot about e-commerce.

How do you feel about winning?

Xiaotong: It's great, especially that we worked to win. We worked on this project for four months. We did not let our cultural differences stop us from working hard or together.

DUBAI WOMEN'S COLLEGE

Team: Hadeel Al Samt, Mariam Al Qaizi and Sara Al Muhairi

Team name: Ae-Trade

Plan name: Ae-Trade

Adviser: Tridib Chatterji

Project: A brokerage service in Dubai that will provide stock trading services for subscribers. Customers can buy and sell stocks online.

How effective is your project?

Mariam: It can be very helpful, especially for women who cannot go to the stock market and do not want to mix with men. We produced a business plan for the service and how it can be implemented and used.

How difficult was it to work on the project?

Sara: We had to learn a lot about the stock market and talked to brokers. We worked for a month on the plan and created five drafts before giving the last version.

What are your plans for the future?

Hadeel: We would love it if our project became a reality.

WHAT IS THE E-BIZ CHALLENGE?

- Started in 2001

- It is a student initiative run by the e-biz team at the Institute for Technological Innovation at Zayed University.

- The idea is based on the successful student e-business competitions run by leading international academic institutions such as Stanford, Cambridge and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, which is the founder of university entrepreneurship competitions and has facilitated the birth of over 60 companies with an aggregate value of more than $10.5 billion (Dh38.5 billion).

- It encourages student teams from the Gulf region to submit e-business plans, which are then judged by industry leaders.

- The challenge provides students with professional growth opportunities, hands-on experience, a chance to network with industry leaders, investors and potential partners and gain media exposure.

- For more visit: www.ebizchallenge.com