100 solutions for a better future
Students from more than 800 universities in 100+ countries, across all disciplines, submitted research-backed projects for this year’s programme. The Dubai Future Solutions – Prototypes for Humanity showcase brought together 100 projects in Dubai between November 18-21, celebrating the power of academia to solve complex issues, alongside our year-round programme supporting university innovators to take their research and solutions forward.
2024 Showcase
Our yearly gathering hosted top students and professors who are leveraging technologies across all sciences and humanities fields, to create a better future for people and the planet. From Healthcare solutions to Agriculture and Energy innovations, the projects featured at Emirates Towers in Dubai, can be visited online here
Awards
A total $100,000 in prizes to students and professors, was presented as part of the Dubai Future Forum’s programme, celebrating academic excellence and supporting the next stages of research development aimed at creating a positive impact across five key future-focused areas . Learn more.
Venture Building
The Dubai Future Solutions – Prototypes for Humanity programme offers a platform to teams aiming to evolve their research into ventures. The programme leverages strategic partnerships with leading private and public entities, and offers funding and piloting opportunities to enable technical and commercial validation in a real-world environment. The 2024 cycle started with a curated group of senior executives from strategic industries – from utilities, the municipality and health authorities, to big tech, food, aviation and construction – engaging directly with each project to explore collaboration opportunities. Selected projects will embark on a venture-building journey with industry, investment and startup experts, to bring their solutions to market from Dubai.
Professors Programme
An initiative enabling professors across different disciplines and countries to exchange knowledge and join efforts towards shared goals. The 2024 edition marked the launch of a strategy harnessing the vision of professors in our community, collaboratively designing a platform that will offer funding and publication opportunities for leading researchers worldwide. Lead by Prof Naren Barfield, the programme will offers a novel, agile and industry-aligned model to support professors to produce and share knowledge addressing future-readiness.
International Partnerships
In line with the programme’s international mandate and vision to work collaboratively with leading entities in disruptive fields, this edition marked the announcement of a collaboration with the European Space Agency, to allow the development of space-related technologies and their applications for social and environmental impact. New partnerships with international, multi-lateral humanitarian organisations were also initiated during the event and the resulting collaboration frameworks will be announced soon.
Participation in our programme is free and open to students, recent graduates and professors from all disciplines and universities around the world. If you are researching and working on solutions that match the criteria below, please register here to stay informed of our upcoming open calls and opportunities.