Professor Rami Abdel-Rahem, President of the University of Petra, awarded first place to the “Palm Guard" project, an intelligent agricultural pest detection device, at the closing ceremony of the inaugural Petra Shark Tank competition, which aims to foster student innovation and entrepreneurship.
The event was organized by the Deanship of Student Affairs in cooperation with the Business Incubator at the Faculty of Administrative and Financial Sciences. The ceremony was attended by Vice President Professor Mayas Al-Rimawi, along with a large gathering of faculty members, staff, and students.
The winning device was developed by Artificial Intelligence students Zaid Abu Al-Sha'ar, Abdulrahman Al-Kurdi, and Abdulrahman Al-Haimouni. The project is designed to detect red palm weevil infestations at an early stage and help reduce their impact on agricultural crops.
Second place was awarded to “SouqFlex," a flexible employment platform developed by Financial Technology student Ghazi Al-Sabbagh. Third place went to “Agentic Tax AI," a tax auditing and compliance system developed by Accounting student Aya Al-Faqih.
Professor Abdel-Rahem emphasized the role of universities as incubators of creativity and centers for preparing future entrepreneurs and leaders. He praised the students' innovative ideas and their ability to develop practical solutions to social and economic challenges.
For his part, Dean of Student Affairs Professor Eyad Al-Mallah highlighted the Deanship's commitment to providing a supportive environment that enables students to transform their creative ideas into sustainable and scalable ventures.
The judging panel consisted of innovation consultant Omar Al-Amoush, former Microsoft General Manager Hussein Malhas, and media professional Aseel Al-Khuraisha.
The event was moderated by Dr. Ahmad Al-Najjar, Director of the Business Incubator, and Dr. Malik Al-Saud, Assistant Dean of Student Affairs, who supervised the training and preparation of students for the competition.
The ceremony concluded with the recognition of the winning teams, judges, and partner organizations in appreciation of their contributions to the success of the initiative, which seeks to support entrepreneurial projects and expand venture investment opportunities for students and graduates.