With 22 innovations on display, Ajman University (AU) showcased the astounding results of “imagination and determination” during its 3rd Annual Demo Day on February 2, 2020. The event offered an extraordinary opportunity for these “startups” to “rev-up” in front of an audience of entrepreneurs and potential investors.
“Demo Day serves as proof that great ideas require great effort,” commented Dr. Abdulhaq Al-Nuaimi, Vice-Chancellor for Communication and Community Affairs, in his opening remarks. “The journey from concept to market is a long and winding road with many obstacles to navigate. But no matter where that road leads, it’s a journey worth taking.”
Since inception in 2016, AU Innovation Center (AUIC) has completed four incubation cycles; accelerated 82 startups; organized 62 workshops; and, provided more than 840 hours of mentoring. The incubated startups have generated around AED 6.5 million in revenue and have created 40 jobs.
Dr. Chuloh Jong, Director of the AUIC, said Demo Day is designed to boost enthusiasm for invention and to bring people together. “Innovation is the process of transforming ideas into value. Innovation has the capacity to disrupt the existing winners in the market, reconstruct the mechanisms of society by reducing and even removing barriers to access.”
The AUIC continues to make huge progress on its goal of translating technologies and ideas into commercially viable and scalable ventures, thereby contributing to economic development, job creation and youth empowerment in the UAE and beyond.