SIQ Business Incubator at the University of Petra in collaboration with SPARK launched its fourth dynamic entrepreneurial competition on the 24th of November, 2019. The competition took place in the Nabataean theatre at the University of Petra under the auspices of the University President Prof. Marwan Al-Muwalla.
The competition marks the end of a three weeks Intensive Boot Camp that took place inside SIQ under the supervision of Dr. Hussam Barham, the Director of SIQ Business Incubator and external experts. This was one of the first Boot Camps and Competitions that focused entirely on the implementation and application of Augmented and Virtual Reality (AR/VR) in Businesses and start-ups. Students and graduated joined the competition from different universities and across different industries including medical, social and industrial.
Dr. Hussam Barham began the competition by welcoming the University guests, the jury members, the academic professors and introduced the participating teams.
In third place, Nadeem Freihat the founder of the “TryOn” which uses Augmented Reality technology that stimulates fitting rooms for online shoppers received a funding grant of 1500 JD.
In second place Bader Al-Dahidi creator of “AR Assist” platform which helps maintenance personnel follow procedures efficiently using Augmented Reality technology received a funding grant of 2500 JD.
Whereas, Rasha Abu Shakhdam the founder of “Martha EDU” won the first place with her Augmented Reality application that focused on aiding people with hearing difficulties using sign language received a funding grant of 3500 JDs.
All the winning teams will be incubated in SIQ were they will receive incubation services to further develop their prototype and launch their business on a wider scale.
Dr. Tala Salah Abuhussein, the Vice Director of SIQ Business Incubator, expressed her gratitude and pride in the pitching of the participating teams and remarked that this high performance and passion for positive change goes in line with the University's mission of playing a significant role in the progression of our nation through creating and disseminating knowledge & technology and preparing individuals who can contribute positively towards their communities.
The jury was formed by Mr. Ashraf Sultan, CEO of Sim Lab, Mr. Magdy Al-Qudah, founder of Intaj 360, and Mr. Agar Rawashdeh, a 3D modeling specialist.