Cancer-detecting teddy bear wins top prize for young Dubai entrepreneur
Arnav Kedia wins first prize plus potential seed funding in the Global Entrepreneurship Challenge
A teddy bear which is designed to detect childhood cancers has been announced as the winner of the UAE-based Global Entrepreneurship Challenge (GEC).
Buddy Bear, the invention of Arnav Kedia, a grade 9 pupil at Gems World Academy Dubai, includes different sensors which test for the early indicators of childhood cancers, such as abnormal heartbeat pulse rate, excess UV radiation in the surroundings, harmful gases or excess moisture or sweating.
If the value any of these indicators is over or under what is recommended by doctors, and LED and the buzzer will flash on the teddy bear.
Second place went to Ryan Boldi and Nada Hussein who were inspired by the coronavirus related lockdown measures when they conceived of their education related idea.
VirTutor, an online teaching service, adapts itself to individual learner’s needs using machine learning and is able to grade, assess and provide feedback on each student’s work.
Ryan Merheby’s Dhonor Healthtech, an eHealth company that develops solutions for the effective management of organ donation and the verification of organ provenance, came third in the competition. Dhonor also provides solutions with effective algorithms for precision organ allocation, using parameters such as time, histocompatibility, and patients’ profiles, which makes the process faster and more effective.
The competition was open to young entrepreneurs with ideas on education, technology, health and sports and environmental sectors.
The winners were announced in the virtual grand final which took place on August 22. The event was meant to take place in April but it was postponed and made remote due to the coronavirus pandemic.
The panel of judges included eight notable businesspeople from the UAE community including Mona Ataya, the founder of Mumzworld, Roberto Croci, the managing director of Microsoft for Startups Middle East, and Diala Daoud, co-founder of Launch DXB.
The Global Entrepreneurship Challenge was organised by Thynk, a start-up founded in 2019 by teenage Dubai-based founders Rayan Malik and Yousuf Zia with the aim of creating a generation of savvy business gurus and encouraging schools to teach entrepreneurship at a young age.
Buddy Bear, the invention of Arnav Kedia, a grade 9 pupil at Gems World Academy Dubai, includes different sensors which test for the early indicators of childhood cancers, such as abnormal heartbeat pulse rate, excess UV radiation in the surroundings, harmful gases or excess moisture or sweating.
If the value any of these indicators is over or under what is recommended by doctors, and LED and the buzzer will flash on the teddy bear.
Second place went to Ryan Boldi and Nada Hussein who were inspired by the coronavirus related lockdown measures when they conceived of their education related idea.
VirTutor, an online teaching service, adapts itself to individual learner’s needs using machine learning and is able to grade, assess and provide feedback on each student’s work.
Ryan Merheby’s Dhonor Healthtech, an eHealth company that develops solutions for the effective management of organ donation and the verification of organ provenance, came third in the competition. Dhonor also provides solutions with effective algorithms for precision organ allocation, using parameters such as time, histocompatibility, and patients’ profiles, which makes the process faster and more effective.
The competition was open to young entrepreneurs with ideas on education, technology, health and sports and environmental sectors.
The winners were announced in the virtual grand final which took place on August 22. The event was meant to take place in April but it was postponed and made remote due to the coronavirus pandemic.
The panel of judges included eight notable businesspeople from the UAE community including Mona Ataya, the founder of Mumzworld, Roberto Croci, the managing director of Microsoft for Startups Middle East, and Diala Daoud, co-founder of Launch DXB.
The Global Entrepreneurship Challenge was organised by Thynk, a start-up founded in 2019 by teenage Dubai-based founders Rayan Malik and Yousuf Zia with the aim of creating a generation of savvy business gurus and encouraging schools to teach entrepreneurship at a young age.
