The Junior Economists’ Forum (JEF), an initiative under the Directorate of Career Counselling and Student Affairs (DCCSA) at United International University (UIU), successfully concluded the Grand Finale of the Hult Prize 2024-2025 competition yesterday at the UIU campus.
The event, powered by Symlex VPN, was a resounding success, bringing together innovative minds who pitched sustainable business startup ideas to address global challenges.
In the competition, students presented their sustainable business ideas through different teams and highlighted solutions to global challenges. After a rigorous selection process through the 1st Round (Idea Submission) and Semi-Final Round (Pitching of Business Ideas), the top six teams were invited to present their ideas in the highly anticipated Grand Finale. Each team was given 8 minutes (04 minutes for presentation and 04 minutes for Q&A) to convince the esteemed panel of judges of the potential of their sustainable business startups.
Professor Dr Abul Kashem Mia, Vice Chancellor of UIU, was present as the Chief Guest at the Grand Finale of the Hult Prize 2024-2025. Professor Dr Mohammad Omar Farooq, Head of the Department of Economics, UIU, was the Special Guest. Dr Golzar Nabi, Research Director, Bangladesh Bank, was the Guest of Honor in the program. The judging panel for the Hult Prize Grand Finale included Ms Tahiya Islam, Country Manager of HerWill Bangladesh and Vice Chairman of Aim Initiative Foundation; Mr Atifi Khaled, Founder and Director of Influencer; Mr. Faysal Islam, Co-Founder and Director of Safewheel Limited and Mr. Salman Khai, Lead – Talent Acquisition and Learning & Development at Reckitt Benckiser (Bangladesh) PLC.
The Hult Prize is a globally recognised competition fostering student entrepreneurship and social innovation. In the grand finale, the champion team is ‘Amar Fuel’, the first is ‘HellHounds’, and the second is ‘MedDeck’. The guests handed over a cheque of 10,000 taka to the champion team, 6,000 taka to the first runner-up team, and 4,000 taka to the second runner-up team.
The programme was attended by faculty members, students, officials, industry experts, and other distinguished guests.