AUS College of Engineering teams outshine competition to secure four wins in Dell Technologies Envision the Future 2024 Competition

Four teams from the American University of Sharjah’s College of Engineering recently came first, second, fourth and fifth in the ninth annual Dell Technologies Envision the Future Graduate Project Competition. In a remarkable performance, the AUS teams secured four top spots despite competing against an impressive 215 teams from 11 countries. 

The competition was launched by Dell Technologies to encourage senior undergraduate students from universities in the Middle East, Africa and Turkey to play an active role in the transformation of the IT sector. It was also an opportunity for students from the region to shine and win cash prizes based on the strength of their proposed solutions for sectors such as fintech, sustainability, education, healthcare and wellbeing, and topics such as AI, the internet of things, information security, automation and 5G.

"The remarkable achievements of our students in this competition highlight the innovative spirit and technical excellence at the heart of our engineering programs at AUS. Competing against the best and brightest from across the region, our teams have demonstrated their deep understanding of cutting-edge technologies as well as a commitment to solving real-world challenges. Their ingenious ideas included fostering sustainable urban environments, identifying earthquake survivors, using predictive analytics to improve healthcare data and leveraging VR technology to increase quality of life for pediatric cancer patients. We are grateful to Dell Technologies for hosting this event and immensely proud of our students’ well-deserved success," said Dr. Fadi Aloul, Dean of the College of Engineering at AUS.

The winning team walked away with a cash prize of US$5,000 thanks to a project titled “An IoT-based Real-Time Vehicle’s Gas Emission Monitoring System.” The team included AUS computer engineering students Omar Farrag, Baraa Abed, Ahmad Mansour and Amr Abu Alhaj, who were supported by their advisors, Dr. Abdulrahman Al Ali and Dr. Taha Landolsi, both professors of computer science and engineering.

"Even though we aimed to reach the final stages of the competition, securing first place certainly exceeded our expectations. Hearing the news was highly fulfilling given the immense hard work we put into the project for over a year. This result is a testament to the incredible support of our advisors, Professor Al-Ali and Professor Landolsi, and to the exceptional project-based learning opportunities provided by the Department of Computer Science and Engineering," said Omar Farrag, speaking on behalf of the winning team.
The second place winners were awarded US$4,000 and secured their spot thanks to a project titled “Real-Time Wireless Monitoring System with Predictive Analysis of Healthcare Data.” The multidisciplinary team included computer engineering student, Nikita Miller; computer science student, Rhea Srivastava; and electrical engineering student, Samrin Saleem. Their advisors, Dr. Salam Dhou, Associate Professor of Computer Science and Engineering and Dr. Ming Teng, Senior Lecturer of Electrical Engineering, supported the students through their respective areas of expertise. 

"So many teams winning from the Department of Computer Science and Engineering is a testament to the abilities and skills of our students and the efforts of faculty and staff in helping shape the human capital of the UAE for the future," said Dr. Imran Zualkernan, Head of the Department of Computer Science and Engineering at AUS.

The fourth place winners presented a project titled “IoT and Machine Learning Based Earthquake Survivor Detection Probe.” Team members were  computer engineering students Layeth Jarai, Jood Shinawi, Abdullah Al Saadi and Bana Sous, and their advisors were Dr. Abdulrahman Al Ali, Professor of Computer Science and Engineering, and Dr. Salam Dhou, Associate Professor of Computer Science and Engineering. 

The fifth place team’s project presented a novel solution for young cancer patients titled “VR Tourism and Gamification for Pediatric Oncology Patients.” It was designed and presented by two computer engineering students, Ananya Sudheer and Saba Hussain, and received support from their advisors Dr. Mohamed Alhajri, Assistant Professor of Computer Science and Engineering, and Dr. Hicham Hallal, Senior Lecturer of Computer Science and Engineering.

"Our students' projects went beyond theory; the victorious teams constructed functional prototypes that were tested on real systems. Their winning projects positively impact environmental, social and global spheres, aligning with UN Sustainable Development Goals 9, to build resilient infrastructure; 11, to make cities and human settlements inclusive, safe, resilient and sustainable; and 13, to take urgent action to combat climate change and its impacts,” said Dr. Abdulrahman Al Ali, who advised and mentored two of the winning teams.

These outstanding results reflect AUS' commitment to nurturing top engineering talent capable of making significant contributions to the regional and global tech landscape.

The College of Engineering at AUS is a top provider of engineering education in the UAE and the Middle East. CEN’s world-class facilities span 38,000 square meters across three buildings, offering students access to state-of-the-art facilities and faculty that are internationally recognized for their academic research. For more information about the College of Engineering at AUS, please visit www.aus.edu/cen.