Three second-year undergraduate students from Abu Dhabi University (ADU) took top honors in the inter-university “Business for Better” competition organised by Western Union and Al Ansari Exchange in the UAE.

The second and third places went to student groups of two members each from American University of Sharjah (AUS). A total of 15 groups of students were shortlisted for the final round wherein they were required to present their sustainable business plans to the panel of judges, a statement from the university said.

The students were evaluated based on four key aspects of their business idea - originality, concept and description, operational plan, and financial planning and budgets, by a judging panel that included Bassem Awada, Western Union’s regional director for the Gulf; Rashed Al Ansari, GM of Al Ansari Exchange; and representatives from the universities.

Jean Claude Farah, Western Union’s senior vice president for MEA, and Mohammed Al Ansari, managing director of Al Ansari Exchange presented each of the students from the top three groups with certificates, at an award ceremony held at the Emirates Towers Hotel in Dubai recently, the statement said.

The winning team, an all-girls group from ADU were also each awarded Dh35,000 ($9,530.3) as scholarships for their next academic year. The second and third place winners were awarded Dh20,000 ($5,445) and Dh10,000 ($2,722) respectively, as scholarships, it said.

Universities which participated in the competition include Abu Dhabi University (ADU), American University in Dubai (AUD), American University of Sharjah (AUS), University of Bolton Ras Al Khaimah Campus, Heriot-Watt University in Dubai, University of Dubai (UD) and University of Wollongong in Dubai (UOWD). – TradeArabia News Service