بUnder the patronage of the Minister of Higher Education...launching the “We Restore... We Innovate... We Build” competition to support student innovation in university waste management
Under the patronage of Dr. Abdulaziz Qanswa, Minister of Higher Education and Scientific Research, the Innovators and Geniuses Fund, in cooperation with the Leadership Development Institute, launched the “We Reinvent... We Build” competition, which aims to motivate university and institute students to provide innovative solutions to transform university waste from an environmental challenge into a real opportunity for innovation and entrepreneurship.
Dr. confirmed. Tamer Hamouda, Executive Director of the Fund for Innovators and Geniuses, said that the competition targets university and institute students. With the aim of enabling them to provide innovative and sustainable solutions for managing university waste through monitoring, sorting, recycling, and economic benefit from it, in a way that supports achieving the goals of Egypt’s Vision 2030 in the areas of environmental sustainability, green economy, and promoting a culture of innovation and entrepreneurship.
Hamouda added that the competitions launched by the Fund represent a real platform for discovering and developing the creative energies of young people, as they provide innovators with integrated paths of support, incubation and guidance, enabling them to transform their ideas into innovative projects and startups capable of providing influential solutions that support the national economy and establish a culture of innovation and entrepreneurship.
For his part, Dr. confirmed. Karim Hammam, Advisor to the Minister of Higher Education for Student Activities and Director of the Leadership Preparation Institute, said that the Institute is keen to support initiatives and competitions that contribute to developing students’ capabilities and refining their creative skills, noting that the competition represents an integrated model for linking student activities with issues of sustainable development and societal challenges, thus enhancing the role of students as active partners in building a more sustainable future, stressing that cooperation with the Fund for the Care of Innovators and Geniuses comes within the framework of integrated efforts to support the culture of innovation and entrepreneurship within universities and institutes, and provide the opportunity for Students to transform their innovative ideas into implementable projects that achieve tangible economic and environmental impact.
Dr. Mustafa Amin, Director of the Competition at the Innovators and Geniuses Fund, explained that the competition is implemented in two main stages: The first stage begins within universities and institutes by registering the educational institution, organizing internal competitions or hackathons to select the best student ideas and innovations, with the formation of multidisciplinary teams to provide integrated solutions covering the four different tracks of the competition. He pointed out that the second stage includes competing at the national level, where the best teams from each university or institute are nominated, with a maximum of 3 teams. The projects are then subjected to specialized evaluation and arbitration processes to select the qualified teams, and give them an opportunity to develop their prototypes before the final presentation before the jury, leading up to the final day, which witnesses the announcement of the winners. And honoring the best innovative projects.
The competition timeline includes several consecutive stages, beginning with the acceptance of applications from universities and institutes until July 22, 2026. This will be followed by internal competitions and hackathons from July 22 to August 22, 2026, to select the teams representing the educational institutions.
Applications for participating teams will be accepted until August 31. The shortlist of finalists will be announced on September 21, 2026. The project development and prototyping phase will then take place from September 21 to October 21, 2026. Final evaluation of the shortlisted projects will be held on November 15, and the competition will conclude with the grand finals on November 23, 2026, where the winning teams will be announced and the creators of the best solutions and innovations will be recognized.
The full profile of the competition, the participation requirements, and the competition tracks can be viewed via the following link: https://tinyurl.com/2jsfj6hw. Universities and institutes wishing to participate can register their data through the registration form available at this link: https://tinyurl.com/dd866wvf. For more information, visit the official website of the Fund for the Care of Innovators and Prodigies www.isf.gov.eg. University and institute students wishing to join can contact the competition coordinator within their university or institute to complete the participation procedures and form the competing teams.
