ID :
209915
Wed, 09/28/2011 - 10:54
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https://www.oananews.org//node/209915
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HCT students step into the Lions' Den for British business Western Region tour
Abu Dhabi, Sept 28, 2011 (WAM) - The Higher Colleges of Technology Campus, in the Western Region city of Madinat Zayed, was the venue for the inaugural 2011 Lions' Den SME Challenge held yesterday, as part of the British Business in Al Gharbia - A Day of Discovery event.
The Challenge saw six teams, made up of 3-4 HCT students, covering a wide range of business fields creating a poster presentation on their respective business models to a panel of distinguished judges. The teams each represented one of the following six SME sectors compete for a major prize, with one team in each of the SME sectors of Marine Sciences; Renewable Energy; Health Sciences; Business Service Centres; Tourism '&' Customer Service Training; and Retail Office Supplies.
Minister for Higher Education and Scientific Research and Chancellor of Higher Colleges of Technology Sheikh Nahyan Mubarak Al Nahyan was present for the Lions' Den SME Challenge and was also a judge with British Ambassador Dominic Jermey; Director General of the WRDC Mohamed Hamad Al Mazrouei; Deputy CEO of the Khalifa Fund for Enterprise Development Abdullah Al Darmaki and Head of HSBC in Abu Dhabi Richard Oliver.
The teams were mentored by British industry experts from each of the sectors, and were hopeful of winning some substantial prizes. The winning team will be awarded AED 10,000 together with continued support by its mentor, the WRDC, Khalifa Fund and HCT to fully develop its business plan and training for initial set-up.
After a series of detailed presentations, the Challenge was won by the Meet the People Team, the only male team in the competition, who addressed the tourist theme. The winning team is keen to set up a tourism company in the Western Region, to help the world discover what a beautiful place Al Gharbia is. "I am so pleased to win," Khalifa Al Hammadi, General Manager of his company, said.
"But I think we deserved to win, our idea is a very good one and we had worked hard to plan how we could run the business and make a profit," Khalifa said. The other teams' concepts included covered businesses tailoring to marine sciences information, a solar power company, a retail services supplier, a mobile business services team and a children's nursery.
Dr Tayeb Kamali, HCT Vice Chancellor, said it was a pleasing to see the Western Region colleges strongly involved with the British Business in Al Gharbia event and to allow HCT students to showcase their business and entrepreneurial skills.
"We see the strong educational, technological and economic ties with British entities as vital for the ongoing development of a learning model which will help young Emirati men and women become valuable contributors to their local communities," Dr Kamali said.
"It was pleasing to see our students eagerly engaging in the Lions' Den teams challenge where they able to demonstrate their business skills and entrepreneurial flair," he said.
"HCT's strong links with business and industry are also evident in the Al Gharbia region, establishing close links with the Western Region Development Council and other corporate entities, to help train and employ students at HCT's Madinat Zayed and Ruwais campuses," Dr Kamali added.
"As a result we are able to fulfil our role of enabling our students in the region to obtain a high quality education and gainful employment in their chosen fields of endeavour, knowing that they have the skills, knowledge, experience and confidence to operate in the modern workforce," he added.
The British Business in Al Gharbia - A Day of Discovery event saw a large delegation of British corporate and business representatives accompany Her Majesty's Ambassador to the UAE, Dominic Jermey; Peter Michelmore, Chairman of the British Business Group in Abu Dhabi and other dignitaries.
"The British Embassy was delighted to be part of the ‘Lions' Den' event which championed the spirit of entrepreneurship among young Emiratis," Jermey said. "It was great to witness, first hand, the collaboration between British businesses and the students. This event gives us a flavour of the human potential and how much the students here think about and value the future of their country.
"They are the stars and the future of the UAE. Today is all about highlighting the human potential here." Jermey also expressed great thanks to Sheikh Nahyan Mubarak Al Nahyan and to HCT for hosting the event.
Abdullah Al Darmaki said that the Khalifa Fund is keen to support events which encourage entrepreneurial spirit, creativity and innovation among young Emiratis. "The purpose of the Khalifa Fund is to provide various forms of support for Emirati entrepreneurs; to empower them to develop their projects into successful businesses that can go onto contribute the national economy," he said.
Al Darmaki said the Lions' Den Challenge will support the efforts of the Fund in developing a culture of leadership and initiative, and to encourage innovation, especially in the Western Region, which is given special attention by the Fund.
Robert Hudson from a participating business, Mouchel, said "the quality of business ideas proposed by the students has been very inspiring". "We have been impressed, but not surprised, by the considerable effort they have devoted to developing those ideas into business plans for start-up companies. The students have, yet again, most clearly demonstrated that people, not oil, are the Western Region's greatest resource," he said.
Abdulfattah Sharaf, Chief Executive Officer, HSBC Bank said it was an honour to sponsor and support the Lions' Den competition. "At HSBC we continue to invest in and encourage young Emirati talent to pursue their entrepreneurial skills. The Lions' Den competition is an exciting new way in which to demonstrate HSBC's support and encouragement. From today's students will emerge the business leaders of the future and on behalf of all of my colleagues at HSBC I congratulate every participant for the hard work, innovation and creativity they have shown during each of their presentations." The Lions' Den SME Challenge was sponsored by HSBC and the Khalifa Fund for Enterprise Development and was held in association with the British Business Group, WRDC, UK Trade '&' Investment and the Abu Dhabi office of the British Embassy in the UAE. - Emirates News Agency, WAM
The Challenge saw six teams, made up of 3-4 HCT students, covering a wide range of business fields creating a poster presentation on their respective business models to a panel of distinguished judges. The teams each represented one of the following six SME sectors compete for a major prize, with one team in each of the SME sectors of Marine Sciences; Renewable Energy; Health Sciences; Business Service Centres; Tourism '&' Customer Service Training; and Retail Office Supplies.
Minister for Higher Education and Scientific Research and Chancellor of Higher Colleges of Technology Sheikh Nahyan Mubarak Al Nahyan was present for the Lions' Den SME Challenge and was also a judge with British Ambassador Dominic Jermey; Director General of the WRDC Mohamed Hamad Al Mazrouei; Deputy CEO of the Khalifa Fund for Enterprise Development Abdullah Al Darmaki and Head of HSBC in Abu Dhabi Richard Oliver.
The teams were mentored by British industry experts from each of the sectors, and were hopeful of winning some substantial prizes. The winning team will be awarded AED 10,000 together with continued support by its mentor, the WRDC, Khalifa Fund and HCT to fully develop its business plan and training for initial set-up.
After a series of detailed presentations, the Challenge was won by the Meet the People Team, the only male team in the competition, who addressed the tourist theme. The winning team is keen to set up a tourism company in the Western Region, to help the world discover what a beautiful place Al Gharbia is. "I am so pleased to win," Khalifa Al Hammadi, General Manager of his company, said.
"But I think we deserved to win, our idea is a very good one and we had worked hard to plan how we could run the business and make a profit," Khalifa said. The other teams' concepts included covered businesses tailoring to marine sciences information, a solar power company, a retail services supplier, a mobile business services team and a children's nursery.
Dr Tayeb Kamali, HCT Vice Chancellor, said it was a pleasing to see the Western Region colleges strongly involved with the British Business in Al Gharbia event and to allow HCT students to showcase their business and entrepreneurial skills.
"We see the strong educational, technological and economic ties with British entities as vital for the ongoing development of a learning model which will help young Emirati men and women become valuable contributors to their local communities," Dr Kamali said.
"It was pleasing to see our students eagerly engaging in the Lions' Den teams challenge where they able to demonstrate their business skills and entrepreneurial flair," he said.
"HCT's strong links with business and industry are also evident in the Al Gharbia region, establishing close links with the Western Region Development Council and other corporate entities, to help train and employ students at HCT's Madinat Zayed and Ruwais campuses," Dr Kamali added.
"As a result we are able to fulfil our role of enabling our students in the region to obtain a high quality education and gainful employment in their chosen fields of endeavour, knowing that they have the skills, knowledge, experience and confidence to operate in the modern workforce," he added.
The British Business in Al Gharbia - A Day of Discovery event saw a large delegation of British corporate and business representatives accompany Her Majesty's Ambassador to the UAE, Dominic Jermey; Peter Michelmore, Chairman of the British Business Group in Abu Dhabi and other dignitaries.
"The British Embassy was delighted to be part of the ‘Lions' Den' event which championed the spirit of entrepreneurship among young Emiratis," Jermey said. "It was great to witness, first hand, the collaboration between British businesses and the students. This event gives us a flavour of the human potential and how much the students here think about and value the future of their country.
"They are the stars and the future of the UAE. Today is all about highlighting the human potential here." Jermey also expressed great thanks to Sheikh Nahyan Mubarak Al Nahyan and to HCT for hosting the event.
Abdullah Al Darmaki said that the Khalifa Fund is keen to support events which encourage entrepreneurial spirit, creativity and innovation among young Emiratis. "The purpose of the Khalifa Fund is to provide various forms of support for Emirati entrepreneurs; to empower them to develop their projects into successful businesses that can go onto contribute the national economy," he said.
Al Darmaki said the Lions' Den Challenge will support the efforts of the Fund in developing a culture of leadership and initiative, and to encourage innovation, especially in the Western Region, which is given special attention by the Fund.
Robert Hudson from a participating business, Mouchel, said "the quality of business ideas proposed by the students has been very inspiring". "We have been impressed, but not surprised, by the considerable effort they have devoted to developing those ideas into business plans for start-up companies. The students have, yet again, most clearly demonstrated that people, not oil, are the Western Region's greatest resource," he said.
Abdulfattah Sharaf, Chief Executive Officer, HSBC Bank said it was an honour to sponsor and support the Lions' Den competition. "At HSBC we continue to invest in and encourage young Emirati talent to pursue their entrepreneurial skills. The Lions' Den competition is an exciting new way in which to demonstrate HSBC's support and encouragement. From today's students will emerge the business leaders of the future and on behalf of all of my colleagues at HSBC I congratulate every participant for the hard work, innovation and creativity they have shown during each of their presentations." The Lions' Den SME Challenge was sponsored by HSBC and the Khalifa Fund for Enterprise Development and was held in association with the British Business Group, WRDC, UK Trade '&' Investment and the Abu Dhabi office of the British Embassy in the UAE. - Emirates News Agency, WAM
