Amman- 27 December 2020

The Deanship of Student Affairs (DSA) at the German Jordanian University (GJU) held the semi-final ceremony of the Hult Prize competition at the universities level, in the presence of the Dean of Student Affairs, Dr. Raed Khasawneh, the jury, in addition to the organizational team of the competition, guests, and students.

At the opening ceremony, Khasawneh delivered a welcoming speech in which he emphasized the importance of this competition and the urgent need to create and activate business incubators that embrace youth creative ideas and turn them into projects on the ground. He also praised the efforts of the organizational team and its tireless work during the previous months at the highest levels.

Mrs. Mona Shehabi, an actress and entrepreneurship mentor, expressed her pride in the participating teams, indicating the stages she went through with the students to refine the ideas and projects to compete internationally.

For her part, Campus Director, student Sarah Al-Zubaidi at GJU praised the efforts of the organizational team and the support of the DSA and thanked all the participating teams for their efforts that resulted in creative ideas to contribute to changing the world for the better.

The judging committees, which consisted of founders and owners of companies and innovations that support youth and creativity, in addition to specialized academics, were divided into three groups to evaluate students' projects in the Challenge of the Hult Prize 2021 "Food Security".

At the end of the ceremony, six teams out of eighteen had qualified for the final stage, and they were:

The Robotech team, who presented the use of artificial intelligence in the farming process,

The Bits and Pieces team aimed to convert food waste into natural fertilizer through various mechanisms,

The Modern Farms team focused on designing vertical farms that use the latest farming methods and incorporate them in homes so that anyone can farm anywhere.

The Right to Eat team developed the idea of manufacturing natural fertilizers out of food waste through chemical engineering processes.

Also, the Encyclofoodia team designed machines that collect food waste and convert them into natural gas and fertilizer. Finally, the Eflah team worked to connect investors with farm owners and farmers through a smartphone application.