University of Dubai wins third season of Software AG’s Future Disruptors Program 2022 UAE chapter

University of Dubai has been named winner of the third season of Software AG’s Future Disruptors Program 2022 UAE chapter, for its Generous DXB Smart Refrigerator – a project that will enhance the existing food fridges, amid stiff competition from UAE Universities. The health-check up booths by BITS Pilani walked away with the competition’s People’s Choice Award. The ceremony was held at a gala event in Dubai during GITEX Global week. The winning team will intern at a Software AG office in the Middle East or European region.

The winning IoT based Generous DXB – smart refrigerator system, powered by Software AG’s Cumulocity IoT aims to encourage responsible food donation and consumption in line with UAE’s efforts to achieve its SDG goals. The system monitors condition of the food donated for quality and freshness through a set of comprehensive sensors. Upon detection, data is sent to a cloud that analyses the food quality before releasing it to the consumer. This ensures that the food donated is safe for consumption. The solution complements the country’s existing initiative of community refrigerators that urges residents to donate and stock public fridges, as an act of sharing.

In addition, the prototype created by the team at BITS Pilani who won the People’s Choice Award was a rousing success, for their unmanned Health check-up booths. An initiative for better community healthcare, the project aims to keep residents of the country well informed of their vitals and if need be, through the platform’s data analysis, connect with healthcare centres for better diagnosis. Canadian University UAE’s Energy generation from waste food use case was also highly applauded by the jury and guests at the event.

The three prototypes focused on imminent need for communities and were therefore shortlisted and chosen to showcase at GITEX Global week.

The gala event was graced by esteemed government officials as jury members, that included Dr. Moza Suwaidan of Digital Dubai, Dr. Ammar Alhusaini, Deputy Director General of CAIT Kuwait,  Fadi Hakim of Injazat and Arif Almalik, Chief Digital Products Officer of Moro Hub. In addition, the jury also included distinguished industry members from Cognit DX and Technology Strategies Middle East.

“The program is a backbone to the ‘Future of learning’ and ‘Future of work’ in an increasingly digital work environment and is designed to empower the nation’s youth”, said Rami Kichli, Senior Vice President, Software AG Middle East and Turkey. “The Future Disruptors Program aims to create a community of diverse talent to address the skills gap and we’re excited to invest in this young talent who are crucial to the future workforce. I feel honored to recognize these outstanding students for their demonstrated commitment to technology for enhanced learning and their innovative concepts to bring about a positive change in communities. Heartiest congratulations once again.”

Dr. Eesa M. Bastaki, University of Dubai said: “With Dubai at the helm of innovation, our aim was not to create a project afresh, but support one of the city’s current initiatives of the many and further aid in driving its sustainable goals through our innovation. Generous DXB is a project that can be seamlessly embedded into Dubai’s community refrigerators scheme. A big thankyou to Software AG for supporting our students with digital skills development that not only backed the project but also enabled them to develop skills needed to succeed in a future workplace. We’re indeed honoured to be the winner of Software AG’s Future Disruptors 2022 UAE edition. It is a real testimony to our vision and hard work placed in enhancing the learning experience at University of Dubai through collaborations such as these.”

The next UAE chapter will open up in March/ April 2023.