GEMS Education has announced the second edition of its Arab Innovation Centre for Education (AICE) Accelerator Programme which provides students a platform that helps build an ecosystem to promote, research and entrepreneurship.

The AICE Accelerator Programme provided select student-led start-ups with mentorship, training, a grant fund and an opportunity to pitch and network with regional business leaders and investors.

The programme culminated in a Demo Day where each team got 10 minutes to present their prototype to an esteemed panel of judges that consists of the region’s leading investors, venture capital firms and entrepreneurs. Each team is paired with a mentor, who are accomplished individuals from various industries and the regional entrepreneurial ecosystem.

The Demo Day took place on today (April 25) in the Dubai Future Accelerators (DFA) facility in Emirates Tower.

Michael Gernon, senior vice president and global head of Innovation, Research and Development, GEMS Education, said: “The AICE Accelerator Programme is a great opportunity and environment for GEMS students to be in. The programme will provide our students with a unique platform, offering them the right mix of critical thinking, commercial knowledge and entrepreneurial enthusiasm.”

The teams earlier this year participated in a two-day bootcamp held at the Blended Learning Plaza in GEMS Wellington Silicon Oasis, where they participated in workshops on product development and growth, design thinking, leadership, branding, business planning and more, led by organisations such as Facebook, DTEC, TeachMeNow and Marya Leadership.

A total of 12 teams were shortlisted into the AICE Accelerator Programme from over 70 applications.

Additionally, finalists from the Global Innovation Challenge, run in partnership with California-based Singularity University - where students from around the world have created solutions to the world’s most pressing issues leveraging exponential technologies such as 3D printing and robotics, will were also be inducted at into the AICE Accelerator Programme.

This year, the AICE Accelerator Programme is in partnership with Generation Disrupt and TeachMeNow. TeachMeNow is an online tutoring platform that has provided USD 50 credit to each participating team and will be offering 10 free hours on its platform to the winner. Generation Disrupt runs fun innovation programs for kids and teens focused on making everyday objects better using technology and design thinking and had inducted several of the students into its course.

The finalists of the Global Innovation Challenge were shortlisted from over 160 projects being showcased at the GIC Expo (formerly called Maker Day) in February this year.

The awards ceremony will take place on May 8, during which the AICE winning team will be announced and given a cash prize of Dh10,000 ($2,720) and 12 months of continuous support from GEMS Education and its partners to develop their product further.- TradeArabia News Service