Entrants will be provided with education
tools, feedback and contacts necessary
to turn their ideas into tomorrow's leading
products and business ventures.
Students from the Higher Colleges of
Technology, UAE University, American University
Dubai, American University Sharjah, Zayed
University (Dubai and Abu Dhabi) are eligible
to enter the contest.
Initially they have to register at www.ebizstudent.com
. Then each campus has to nominate three
teams of three students each. The criteria
for selection are available on the site,
but essentially students with high grades
or demonstrating good leadership, critical
thinking and information technology skills
will be selected.
Each team has to have a faculty advisor
as part of it to increase interaction.
The closing date for the challenge is
mid-January, with the results expected
to be released by February 23. The judges
are from the IT and e-commerce industry.
According to Dr Salah Khelfaoui, director
of the ITI, "the need for education
and industry to work more closely together
have never been more profound than in
this fast moving e-world we are in.
"The event is set to place the spotlight
on talented students who can think outside
of the box when it comes to innovation
in the context of the business world,
and it is these skills that our sponsors
will be hoping to see as they use this
event as a way of recruiting outstanding
students."
Dr Hanif Hassan, Vice President of Zayed
University, said: "This challenge
will allow students in the UAE to exhibit
their talent and creativity.
"It will help connect industry,
academia and government in support of
the formation and training of the future
workforce of the UAE and the Middle East."
In addition to VISA International, the
challenge has sponsorship from several
leading institutions including the Bin
Zayed Group, tejari.com, the National
Bank of Abu Dhabi, Zayed University, GTSF,
Clientsoft, ES-Gulf, Afcomp, GS Learning
and the World of Events.
All information on the challenge and
up-to-date news can be obtained by logging
on to the competition website at www-ebizstudent.com.
The Challenge finale will include a gala
dinner, award ceremony, exhibition of
the students' work and an IT recruitment
fair to be staged in the fall semester.
With a prize pool in the region of Dh150,000,
the first place team will win a trip to
Cebit2000 Hannover, Germany, a well-known
IT fair.
Other prizes include work placements
in the UAE and abroad, laptop computers
and an array of hardware donated by sponsors.
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