Hadhramout University organized today the closing and award ceremony of the First Entrepreneurship and Innovation Hackathon at the Ali Ahmed Bakatheer Hall at the University Presidency, with the participation of several supporting sponsors, and under the generous patronage of the University President, Prof. Dr. Mohamed Khanbash.
The ceremony began with recitations from the Holy Qur’an, after which Dr. Khanbash stated that “today we witness the harvest of ideas, efforts, and creativity as we celebrate the conclusion of the first Entrepreneurship Hackathon. This platform has transformed into a hive of activity where ideas converged, and promising project concepts began to take shape. I take this opportunity to congratulate all the creative, distinguished, and winning participants.”
He emphasized that the role of the university extends far beyond granting academic degrees; it also encompasses empowering students to shape their professional futures. He added that entrepreneurship is the driving force of the modern economy and the path to creating, rather than waiting for, opportunities. Dr. Khanbash affirmed that the submitted projects were highly inspiring and reflect an encouraging starting point for a promising and prosperous future.
He noted that this marks a new stage for the outstanding projects, which represent the first achievements of the Entrepreneurship Center. Real support will be provided through fully equipped, free workspaces within the university’s Business Incubator for forty participants, who will also be connected with investors and relevant institutions to help them transform their prototypes into start-ups that can serve the community.
For his part, the Acting Director General of the Hadhramout Chamber of Commerce and Industry, Attorney Majdi Buabass, stated in the sponsors’ keynote address that the Chamber has a memorandum of understanding with the university, and this hackathon is among the joint activities. He affirmed that the university has now become a producer of competencies and expressed the Chamber’s readiness to support all innovative, entrepreneurial, and research activities that enhance the local economy and productivity, helping the university move toward becoming a “productive university” in the near future, God willing.
The ceremony also featured a televised report showcasing all stages of the Hackathon’s activities.
At the end of the event, the University President, Dr. Khanbash, along with the Vice President for Student Affairs, Prof. Dr. Salem Mubarak Al-Obathani; the University Secretary-General, Mr. Abdullah Alawi Aideed; and the Assistant Vice President for Student Affairs, Prof. Dr. Salem Mohammed Bin Salman, honored the sponsors of the Hackathon, and presented financial awards to the top three winners, in addition to distributing participation certificates to all participants in the First Entrepreneurship and Innovation Hackathon.
The ceremony was attended by college deans and their deputies, several faculty members and their assistants, supporting sponsors, and a large number of university students.