In line with Carnegie Mellon College in Qatar (CMU-Q), a Qatar Basis associate college, two of its college students, Mohammad Fadhel Annan and Lujain Al Mansoori, have gained a prime prize within the FoodTech class at a Qatar Growth Financial institution (QDB) competitors – for his or her thought for 3D printed greens, an alternative choice to farming that might bolster meals safety in locations like Qatar the place there may be little or no arable land.
QDB’s Enterprise Incubation and Acceleration Hackathon was designed to empower entrepreneurs in Qatar to share their concepts and inventive options to handle challenges in digital transformation throughout a wide range of industries. Because the winners of the FoodTech class, the workforce acquired 25,000 QAR to spend money on their thought.
The 2023 version spanned the Fintech, SportsTech, and FashionTech industries, and featured options on enabling prospects experiences, and operational options for digital transformation, in a number of sectors corresponding to meals tech.
“We encourage our college students at CMU-Q to use the information they study right here to create options that may have a big effect. Congratulations to Mohammad and Lujain for such an modern strategy to meals safety,” mentioned Michael Trick, Dean of CMU-Q.
For the competitors, Annan and Al Mansoori developed their thought to make use of a mixture of artificially grown vegetable cells and UV-sensitive 3D printer ink to print greens. Their pitch included plans to change 3D printers to accommodate organic matter, and a 3D printed carrot prototype.
Dr. Hamad Mejegheer, Govt Director of Advisory and Incubation at QDB, emphasised the significance of the competitors, which “represents a continuation of our efforts to foster an entrepreneurial ecosystem that embraces innovators and pioneers who add worth to our diversified and knowledge-based financial system consistent with the strategic targets of the Qatar Nationwide Imaginative and prescient 2030.”
Each college students are starting their third yr in data programs at CMU-Q, they usually intend on creating their thought as they proceed their research. Mohammed Al-Sadi, a educating assistant for data programs, served as a mentor on the challenge.
“We have now spent quite a lot of time creating a CAD mannequin for a specialised 3D printer that may use edible inks to print meals merchandise. As every layer is printed, UV mild solidifies the edible ink, and ultimately, you might have a vegetable,” mentioned Mohammad Fadhel Annan.
“We might probably print meals in bulk, tremendously decreasing the money and time it takes to develop vegetables and fruit. It’s limitless what we will do,” mentioned Lujain Al Mansoori.
After their profitable pitch on the QDB competitors, the scholars have been supplied a seat in QDB’s startup program, the place they’ll have entry to specialists and mentors to information their progress.