Three students from the College of Engineering at American University of Sharjah (AUS) have won top honors in the Intelak Aviation & Travel Incubator Competition.

The event, which was sponsored by Emirates Airlines Group, DNATA, General Electric and Etisalat Digital, saw more than 500 groups from across the UAE participate in the competition, submitting projects designed to make travel simpler, better or more exciting. The top 20 submissions were chosen to take part in an intensive, one-week boot camp which included design workshops, financial modelling and marketing advice. Four finalists were selected at the end of the week, each receiving AED 50,000 to invest in their projects. The finalists will now take part in an intensive three-month program to further develop their idea. They will also be given the opportunity to pitch their ideas to venture capitalists, and may be offered employment opportunities with competition sponsors.

AUS electrical engineering students, Ahmed El Sayed Elrayes and Mohamed Hag Al, along with computer engineering student, Nova Rahman, won first place in the competition for their project, “Foreign Object Debris Detection and Collection at Airport Runways.” The group was mentored by Dr. Amer Zakaria and Dr. Mahmoud Ibrahim, faculty members from the Department of Electrical Engineering.

Dean of the College of Engineering at AUS, Dr. Richard Schoephoerster, said of the students’ achievement:

“We are delighted that AUS students have performed so well in this project, and received the highest prize. It is a testament to these students’ ability to turn theoretical knowledge into practical solutions. We wish them all the best as they continue to develop their idea.”