SDG 9: Industry, Innovation and Infrastructure

LAU’s commitment to innovation and technology is evident through various initiatives and programs, such as supporting its students in robotics competitions, where they engage in cutting-edge technological projects, fostering a culture of innovation and engineering excellence. LAU’s participation in the World Robot Olympiad, its students’ impressive achievements in graphic design competitions, and its partnership with Boise State University for a virtual exchange program all demonstrate its dedication to promoting technological advancements and fostering innovative thinking among students. LAU’s collaboration with the U.S. Department of State’s Middle East Partnership Initiative (MEPI) Tomorrow’s Leaders College to Work Pipeline Vertically Integrated Projects (TLP VIP+) further highlights its commitment to preparing students for the job market and enhancing employability, entrepreneurship skills, and innovation. Additionally, LAU’s involvement in the Arctic Walk for Climate Resilience and Food Security, where seed packets from Arab countries are delivered to the Svalbard Global Seed Vault, showcases its commitment to addressing climate challenges and contributing to food security. LAU’s strong emphasis on technology, innovation, and workforce preparedness aligns with SDG 9’s goals of building resilient infrastructure, promoting sustainable industrialization, fostering innovation, and enhancing technological capabilities.

Exploring the Future with AI: MEPI TLU Student Zina Kamel’s Vision for the Artificial Intelligence Club

In addition to her contributions as club president, Zina’s exceptional academic performance and dedication to her studies led her to qualify for the finals in an esteemed international competition. Her hard work, perseverance, and ability to apply her knowledge in a competitive setting earned her recognition and propelled her to the forefront of her field.

Complementing her academic achievements, Zina actively engaged in various volunteering activities, showcasing her commitment to social responsibility and making a positive impact on her community. Through her selfless efforts, she contributed her time and skills to causes that aligned with her values, demonstrating her compassion and dedication to improving the lives of others.

Furthermore, Zina’s impressive accomplishments caught the attention of Amazon, a global leader in technology and e-commerce. As a testament to her skills and potential, she secured an internship at Amazon for the summer of 2023. This coveted opportunity allowed her to gain valuable industry experience, work alongside professionals in her field of interest, and further develop her expertise in the dynamic realm of technology and innovation.

Zina Kamel’s success story exemplifies her outstanding leadership, academic excellence, and commitment to community service. Her initiative in launching the Artificial Intelligence Club, her accomplishments in international competitions, her active involvement in volunteering activities, and her prestigious internship at Amazon all highlight her exceptional capabilities and her potential to make a significant impact in the field of technology and beyond.

Zina Kamel, a driven and accomplished student of the MEPI TLU program, returned from her semester in the United States with a string of remarkable achievements that showcased her exceptional leadership, academic prowess, and commitment to community engagement.

From MEPI TLU to RoboCup: Mohammad Shahine’s Journey of Innovation and Achievement

First and foremost, Mohammad’s passion for robotics led him to undertake groundbreaking research, resulting in his qualification for the prestigious RoboCup Competition—an internationally renowned event that showcases cutting-edge advancements in robotics. His diligent efforts and innovative approach earned him recognition and the opportunity to compete on a global stage.

In addition to his achievements in robotics, Mohammad showcased his exceptional leadership and organizational skills by spearheading an Arab Night event at Kent State University. This event not only celebrated Arab culture but also fostered cross-cultural understanding and appreciation among the university’s diverse community. Mohammad’s attention to detail and ability to bring people together ensured the event’s success.

Furthermore, Mohammad actively participated in International Day at Kent State University, furthering his commitment to fostering international cooperation and cultural exchange. Through his involvement, he contributed to creating a vibrant and inclusive environment that celebrated the diversity of the university’s student body.

Moreover, Mohammad volunteered his time and efforts with NGOs focused on community development. He actively participated in building a fence and contributed to the rebuilding and restoration of a nursing home, displaying his commitment to social responsibility and the welfare of others. Additionally, he dedicated himself to the noble cause of distributing food to those in need, playing a vital role in supporting the underprivileged and promoting their well-being.

Mohammad Shahine, a dedicated and accomplished student of the MEPI TLU program, returned from his semester in the United States with a series of impressive achievements. His time abroad was marked by his unwavering commitment to personal and academic growth, as well as his active involvement in various extracurricular activities.

Center for Innovative Learning

Welcome to the Center for Innovative Learning (CIL) at the Lebanese American University. The CIL is committed to the support and development of faculty towards excellence and innovation. The purpose of the CIL is to bring together colleagues from different schools to promote excellence in teaching, learning and assessment through technologies and high-impact pedagogies. The CIL collaborates with faculty to design content and courses that promote an active learning environment for students enrolled in traditional face-to-face instruction, flipped classrooms, blended/hybrid courses, and online courses for all degree programs.

The Center for Innovative Learning (CIL) was established in 2016 as a new faculty development asset under the auspices of the Provost’s Office. It is dedicated to creating an active learning environment for students and faculty and improving the quality of student learning by exploring the principles of effective teaching.

In its new structure, CIL includes the Faculty Fellows Program. This program is the core of the center and aims at promoting collaborations with a diversity of schools and experienced instructors. The program offers its faculty members the opportunity to enhance their teaching experience and be active members of the LAU teaching community.

Mission

The mission of the Center for Innovative Learning is to support faculty development, promote innovative pedagogical initiatives, enhance excellence in teaching effectiveness, and facilitate engagement in student learning. The CIL provides resources and services that can promote an active learning environment.

Vision

CIL is a place where faculty and the Center’s team work in a collaborative environment to create rich, engaged learning and teaching experiences. The center aims at enhancing student success, builds vital community partnerships, and invites faculty to become members of an academically diverse, active learning community.

Goals

The Center’s goals are to:

• Bring together faculty from different schools, departments, and/ or units to promote excellence in teaching, learning and assessment through cutting-edge technologies and high-impact pedagogy
• Advance best practices for the dissemination of knowledge to guide the development and the implementation of best teaching and assessment practices
• Create a collegial environment of shared purpose and mutual support across the institution
• Promote a view of teaching based on the principles of a learning centered approach
• Integrate effective and innovative teaching and research-based techniques.
• Provide practical advice on the integration of innovative pedagogies and technology driven methodologies
• Provide resources to faculty on high impact pedagogies and learning technologies
• Function as a center of innovation and professional development regionally and internationally
• Establish and maintain long-term sustainable and transformative partnerships across campus and between the campus and the community.

Intended Outcomes

• Adopting the “train the trainer” model
• Encouraging/Fostering dialogues and mutually beneficial partnerships
• Consulting individually or in small groups with experts
• Projecting/sharing professional teaching examples
• Hosting faculty workshops
• Creating teaching resources
• Providing ongoing support
• Reaching out to the community at large
• Facilitating peer groups in the classroom
• Implementing peer visits through the four square model.

LAU Innovate

LAU Innovate is the one-stop shop for entrepreneurs and innovators to transform their ideas into successful businesses.

LAU Innovate operates at the LAU Fouad Makhzoumi Innovation Center (LAU FMIC) which provides all LAU stakeholders with an all-inclusive incubation hub. The center aims at fostering entrepreneurship endeavors and transforming ideas into sustainable businesses.

Throughout our programs, we work closely with our startups on raising basic entrepreneurship awareness, defining a target market, finding product-market fit, and getting first validation for the startups. We are also instrumental in helping entrepreneurs prepare for investor meetings, thereby guiding them throughout the whole product development process.

Locations

Beirut

Byblos

Alumni

Meet the Alumni: The Street Pulse

Meet the Alumni: CareCoCreators

Meet the Alumni: iCademy

Programs

Unlike traditional innovation centers, LAU Innovate offers programs that constantly evolve to keep pace with the dynamics of technological advancements.

LAU’s VIP+ Innovation Showcase and Startup Competition Announces Winners

Five teams are rewarded with monetary prizes and the support needed to advance their innovative projects.

In 2021, thanks to a generous grant from the US Department of State Middle East Partnership Initiative (US MEPI), LAU launched the Vertically Integrated Project (VIP) framework designed by Georgia Institute of Technology (Georgia Tech) that allows student teams from across the disciplines to collaborate on innovative projects. While developing their projects, the teams are led by faculty, coached by graduate students, and co-mentored by industry partners.

To maximize the experience for its students, LAU expanded the VIP framework to a VIP+ model, incorporating an entrepreneurship component that falls under the MEPI Tomorrow Leaders’ College to Work Pipeline (TLP), encouraging them to innovate and create their own startups.

In the first LAU VIP+ Innovation Showcase and Startup Competition, held on Byblos campus, ten teams, some of whom had spent between one to two semesters developing their startups, had the opportunity to pitch them to a jury.

“The purpose of the competition,” said Dean of the School of Engineering and TLP Project Director Lina Karam, “is to motivate our students to innovate and empower them to launch successful startups and to recognize and celebrate innovation and entrepreneurship.”

The five winning companies were awarded monetary prizes: Cedar BioDiagnostics and Takatcom tied in first place and were awarded $7,000 each; Mindzone and LUXEED Robotics tied in second place and were granted $5,000 each; and 1TRIBE came in third place and was awarded $2,000.

• Cedar BioDiagnostics – While scientific studies have focused on finding a cure for kidney damage and disease, little attention has been given to developing detection methods. Accordingly, Cedar BioDiagnostics aims to respond to this gap by developing non-invasive microchips that can detect slight variations in kidney function that might not appear in clinical tests, using urine samples from diabetic and/or hypertensive patients. Through early detection, this startup hopes to help doctors protect their patients from irreversible kidney damage and chronic diseases by offering preventative measures and early treatment.

• Takatcom – Takatcom’s six-month-old startup idea presents itself as a reliable and decentralized solution to the electricity crisis. It aims to design an energy trading platform, allowing peers to trade excess solar energy through dynamic pricing and a grid prioritizing liability at competitive prices. Various sources of power generation inside the microgrid ensure the lowest cost of energy to the peer.

• Mindzone – Mindzone is an interactive E-learning platform that provides enthusiastic learners with access to free and paid video courses in Arabic. The courses, which cover artistic topics, such as photography, help learners develop their knowledge and implementation skills. Mindzone also offers learners a chance to ask questions and get answers or feedback on their projects from experts in the field.
• LUXEED Robotics – LUXEED Robotics aims to build a robot that burns weeds with laser in an effort to reduce yield loss in crops. The startup thus proposes a cost-effective and organic solution to weed management and promotes sustainable agriculture by decreasing the use of herbicides, commonly used to eliminate weeds.
• 1TRIBE –1TRIBE’s application offers gym owners and coaches an easy way to share their fitness exercises with their clients. Instead of using a white or blackboard to explain the breakdown of an exercise, this application works by screening customizable workouts on television, making it easier for class members to follow the fitness exercises. The application tells users which workout they need to do and how much time they should spend doing it. It also simplifies the process of designing a fitness class by sharing with coaches a list of popular workouts that they can amend and share with their own clients.

In addition to the monetary awards, the winners will receive support, mentoring, and training as needed, said Dr. Karam. “They will be also eligible to participate in further pitching events and competitions where they can highlight their progress and achievements to receive further funds, which will be done in collaboration with the LAU Fouad Makhzoumi Innovation Center/LAU Innovate,” the university’s own incubation hub.

	Third prize went to the team who pitched 1TRIBE, an app that instantly casts customizable workouts to any big screen in class.
	First prize winner, Cedar BioDiagnostics’ startup will specialize in developing microchips that detect slight variations in kidney function that might not appear in clinical tests.
	Also in first place, Takatcom’s startup involves designing an energy trading platform, allowing peers to trade excess solar energy at affordable costs.
	Mindzone, an interactive E-learning platform that provides enthusiastic learners with access to free and paid video courses in Arabic, took second prize.
	LUXEED Robotics tied in second place, for their idea to build a robot that burns weeds with laser in an effort to reduce yield loss in crops and the use of pesticides.

Young Scholars Demonstrate that the Robot is their Friend at the World Robot Olympiad

On August 6 and 7, students from schools across Lebanon immersed themselves in the fascinating world of robotics at the World Robot Olympiad national competition (WRO-Lebanon 2022), My Robot My Friend, co-organized by the WRO-Lebanon Section and LAU.

Guided by student volunteers and judged by faculty from the School of Engineering, the young scholars competed in three categories of different age groups for the chance to represent Lebanon in the International WRO competition to be held in Germany this fall.

LAU’s active participation in WRO-Lebanon 2022, the first robotics competition of its kind to be reinitiated since the onset of the economic crisis and the COVID-19 pandemic, proves once again its pioneering role in the development of education in the country.

After a long competitive day, the closing ceremony was held at the Municipality of Byblos, under the patronage and in the presence of the Director-General of the Ministry of Education and Higher Education Imad Al Achkar, the Secretary-General of Catholic Schools Father Youssef Nasr, President of the municipality Wissam Zaarour, Dean of the School of Engineering Lina Karam, WRO Official Representative in Lebanon Jenny Chemaly, Founder and President of Growth Holdings LLC Philip Ziadeh, founder and CEO of the Advanced Computer Technology Center Rabih Baalbaki and supporters of the education and engineering sector.

Welcoming the young students, “Lebanon’s hope and future,” Dr. Karam described robotics as a combination of “several fields, including electrical and mechanical engineering, computer engineering, computer science, artificial intelligence with aspects from psychology, ethics, public policy, and design; it enables various applications from assistive technologies and medicine to transportation, manufacturing, construction, and space exploration.” Robotics, she added, is about dexterity, precision, and improving the quality of life.

Chemali attributed the success of WRO-Lebanon 2022 “to the students who worked hard with their teachers, and to the supporting institutions and people who trusted us.”

As it presents an opportunity for them to develop their creative skills and problem-solving skills in the fields of science, technology, engineering, and mathematics, she said, “this type of competition helps them to hone their learning skills, thought process, sense of commitment, leadership and teamwork skills, and eventually to choose their career path.”

Chemali expressed her gratitude to all those who contributed to this achievement, from Director-General Al Achkar, the Municipality of Byblos, LAU, LIV, IPT, Dr. Noel Maalouf, Rasha Ghabash, Rabih Baalbaki, Mr. Chadi Al Maasarani, Caritas Youth, and all the volunteers and media.

Prizes were then distributed to the winners of each category, marking the end of this year’s competition. The Jamil Rawas Public School for Boys and Champville came first in the Future Innovators Junior (15-13) and Senior (19-16) categories, respectively, with Champville also taking the top prize in Future Engineers. Edutech claimed first place in the Elementary (12-8) and Junior RoboMission categories while Saint Joseph School came first in the Senior category.

Re-Design of Beirut Port, and its relation to the city

On Thursday, August 25th Dr. Maroun Daccache, Chair of the Department of Architecture & Interior Design at the School of Architecture & Design presented his project on the re-design of Beirut port following the tragic explosion of August 4th at the Order of Engineers and Architects. The project highlighted the possible extension of the port in the city by breaking the silence between its people and opening up to the world.

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LAU Tops Dubai Lynx, Again

Graphic Design students surmount challenges and stiff competition to top the charts and earn well-deserved recognition.

For the second consecutive year, LAU has dominated the student competition at the 2021 Dubai Lynx festival, the “benchmark for creative excellence in the MENA region” that attracts leading professionals in media, advertising, marketing, and communication.

Two senior Graphic Design students, Jad Zock and Ghiwa Abi Khalil, snatched the first and third spots respectively, while three others – Gaelle Majdalani, Nabil Houari and Rita Azar – were shortlisted among a total of five, outshining hundreds of student applicants from universities across the region.

“A recurrent win, and at this level, is a remarkable achievement,” said Associate Professor and Associate Chair of the Department of Art and Design Melissa Plourde Khoury, congratulating the students and recognizing the mentorship of Adjunct Faculty Joumana Ibrahim, who guided them every step of the way.

Ibrahim pointed out that the competition offered students a welcome distraction from the stressful situation in Lebanon. “I am particularly proud of this cohort who worked on a challenging brief only a few weeks following the August 4 explosion, in the midst of a pandemic and an economic crisis,” she said.

Their accomplishment holds further significance, continued Ibrahim, as this year’s Dubai Lynx Student Competition was downsized to only one brief, which reduced the contestants’ chances of winning.

The brief was to design a cover for an upcoming issue of Campaign Middle East magazine, themed after social media platforms. Zock’s winning design will be printed as the cover of the issue.

Zock drew inspiration from an everyday activity: scrolling that has intensified with the COVID-19 lockdowns. “My cover design highlights the frequency at which we scroll and where we look as we do it – as seen on a heatmap,” he explained.

Inspired by another pastime activity – mandala coloring – Abi Khalil designed one made from carefully aligned logos of leading social media platforms in the MENA region. “Magazine readers get to color in the pattern and make every cover unique – just like personalized content on social media platforms,” she explained, adding that her message to advertisers is to “customize content to reach targeted audiences.”

Commenting on the students’ creations, Plourde Khoury said that it “was a comprehensive and smart collection of design approaches,” adding that the recognition gave them “a much-needed edge in a highly competitive industry, as creative directors from across the region seek young talent based on the Dubai Lynx wins.”

Indeed, this time round the stakes were particularly high. Though Zock had previously participated in several competitions, the Lynx experience felt different as “we competed against an overwhelming number of entries from various regions,” he said.

Abi Khalil agreed, and was certain that partaking in this competition had enriched her experience across the different realms of graphic design. “I am counting on such varied encounters to help me make an informed decision on my future career,” she noted.

	Zock’s design highlights “the frequency at which we scroll and where we look as we do it – as seen on a heatmap.”
	Inspired by mandala coloring, Abi Khalil’s design invites readers to color in the pattern and make every cover unique – just like personalized content on social media platforms.

LAU and Boise State University Collaborate on Virtual Exchange Program

Lebanese and US students collaborate on innovative solutions, overcoming communication challenges.

Students from LAU and Boise State University (BSU) embarked on a virtual exchange program funded by the US Embassy in Lebanon, turning difficulties into co-created, innovative solutions.

Through Flipgrid, an educational video app, 71 students worked on three projects aimed to engender cross-cultural dialog. The first of these projects was an ice-breaker activity whereby the students designed a new product/service for a grocery store. In the second, the students had to develop solutions to a problem that they imagined their cross-cultural counterparts were experiencing and then refined those innovative solutions by carefully listening to their counterparts’ comments.

In yet another project they had to work collaboratively to identify the strategic differentiators for a company addressing one of the 17 UN Sustainable Development Goals.

“When the students suddenly understood that a nine-hour difference translates into a 24-hour communication cycle, I got a lot of push-back,” said Dr. Jordan Srour, associate professor of operations management at the Adnan Kassar School of Business, who worked on designing the course. “One student even asked: whose crazy idea was this?”

One interesting solution, explained Dr. Srour, was a set of fire poles with embedded sensor technology and sprinklers that simultaneously alerted to and mitigated the spread of wildfires. “This project stuck in my mind as wildfires became a point around which the team members could really understand each other,” she said.

Another project that stood out was one developed in an individual assignment, allowing BSU students to safely return to in-person learning during the COVID-19 pandemic. LAU students developed an app – using BSU logos – that allows students to select a location on campus and then identify the route that takes them through the least crowded and most recently cleaned areas to ensure their safety.

“I was totally shocked,” said Dr. Srour, “as LAU students independently worked on a problem inspired by their conversations with BSU students. With the many problems happening in Lebanon, these students chose to focus their efforts on a problem related to their BSU counterparts.”

The experience has taught the students what no textbook can: how to listen.

“Of course, the technology has facilitated the communication, but the class’s major strength was the fundamentals of what it is to be a human with a problem that needs solving,” explained Dr. Srour. 

“Apart from the nine hours’ time difference and some power cuts faced along the way, I found the program really engaging,” said senior student in information technology management Abdelrahman Ghalayini, “as it gave me a better idea of what it means to work with different cultures and time zones.”

But what he appreciated the most, he noted, was the chance to work with a university abroad and interact with students from different backgrounds. “This helped me expand my knowledge and come up with new ideas that led to completing the project.”

The course also helped improve the students’ critical skills.

“We had to come up with creative, data-driven, and interesting ideas throughout the semester, especially in the collaborative projects with BSU students,” said second-year student Mariam Tahsaldar, who is minoring in data analytics.

“I was happy that they learned more about Lebanon since they did not even know that we spoke English in the first place,” she added.  “I also got to learn more about their country and vice versa.”

Moving beyond intellectual capital and pedagogical innovation, the project embraces the ideal of a university without borders.

“The collaboration with Boise aligns with all three pillars of LAU’s strategic plan,” said Dr. Srour. “I love the fact that we partnered with BSU and not a school in a well-known location like New York or California. It is so important for our students to learn that ‘global’ is an all-encompassing word – not just reserved for the world’s major cities.”

Projecting beyond that, she hopes to see LAU engage even more in virtual exchange experiences across the curriculum.

“One potential future for this modality would be in terms of language learning,” she said. “How wonderful would it be for LAU students to support BSU students in learning Arabic virtually?”

Associate Professor and Chairperson of the Information Technology and Operations Management Department Manal Yunis underlined the vital importance of such programs.

“Nowadays, internationalization is key to success,” said Dr. Yunis. “To be and to stay competitive, universities seeking high ranking levels set a variety of plans, one of which is investing in cross-cultural partnerships with other higher education institutions for research and teaching purposes.”

At the teaching level, she added, developing collaborative activities with international higher education institutions can yield transformative results with high impact. “Besides enhancing students’ engagement levels, such partnerships can help students build global perspectives in life and professional decisions, and can also prepare them for careers in a global and diversified economy.”

Furthermore, she noted, course partnerships foster a positive attitude toward the other culture and its people, which can with time help students eliminate wrong preconceptions, develop flexibility and cultural intelligence skills.

LAU students Abdelrahman Ghalayini and Elie Abou Issa, along with three students from BSU received the top award at BSU’s College School of Business and Economics Challenge (COBE) Innovation Challenge for their idea to convert waste energy from roadways to electricity using vertical turbines.

Other SDG-targeted projects on which LAU students collaborated with their BSU counterparts took the international prizes and were selected as the Dean’s Choice as well as the Judges’ Recognition Award.

Michael Haddad Embarks on Arctic Walk

The UNDP’s Regional Goodwill Ambassador plans to deliver a “Package of Hope,” including seed samples from 12 Arab countries and a book by Pope Francis to the Svalbard Global Seed Vault.

Professional endurance athlete and United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) Goodwill Ambassador Michael Haddad is embarking on an Arctic Walk for Climate Resilience and Food Security in Svalbard, Norway. 

As part of his mission, he will deliver a “Package of Hope” that contains seed packets from 12 Arab countries, as well as a symbolic seed – a limited edition book by Pope Francis –to the Svalbard Global Seed Vault, where the world’s unique crop collections are stored to safeguard genetic diversity.

Haddad explained the purpose of his mission. “I come from the Arab region, where we depend on imports for most of our food, and where temperatures are rising faster than the global average,” he said, pleading for communities at large “to act with determination, ambition and urgency to stave off the climate crisis and ensure our collective food security – both cornerstones for human security.”

In coordination with the UN Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), the International Center for Agricultural Research in the Dry Areas (ICARDA) prepared for Haddad the seed packets as part of the official seed stocks from Algeria, Egypt, Iraq, Jordan, Lebanon, Libya, Morocco, Oman, Palestine, Syria, Tunisia, and Yemen, to be deposited in the Svalbard vault. The specially prepared packages include wild relatives of wheat, barley, lentils, chickpeas, and other forage legumes.

Haddad, who is paralyzed from the chest down, will perform his odds-defying symbolic walk with the aid of a specially designed exoskeleton devised by a scientific team of engineers and neurologists from LAU and the American University of Beirut. 

The exoskeleton was inspired by Haddad’s “swing-to-gait” method – whereby he maintains his balance with his upper body while thrusting his legs forward with the help of crutches. 

At LAU, Assistant to the President for Special Projects Saad El Zein reaffirmed the university’s commitment to Haddad’s mission, citing the collaboration that has been ongoing for more than eight years. “Michael is a walking lab for humanity, and we will continue supporting him and learning from his unique experience,” he said. “We engage with Michael in a strategic and multidisciplinary manner through many of our schools and departments.” 

Indeed, the exoskeleton project has inspired several undergraduate engineering capstone projects, a graduate project and thesis, as well as a number of fundraising initiatives and collaborations with experts across the board. 

From an academic standpoint, “this has been a tremendous learning experience for engineering students as they continue to engage in solving a worthwhile problem – a truly inspiring effort,” said Associate Provost Barbar Akle.

Not only have the students been involved in developing the exoskeleton, but they have also had to build other gadgets for the project, he added. In response to COVID-19, for example, the team created a ventilated face mask for Haddad, who expends approximately 30 times more energy while walking, and therefore requires more oxygen than the average person.

The LAU School of Engineering Organizes the First-Ever TLP VIP+ Industry-Academia Workshop

Innovation, professional networking, and job preparedness were the key objectives of the first pitching workshop for the U.S. Department of State’s Middle East Partnership Initiative (MEPI) Tomorrow’s Leaders College to Work Pipeline Vertically Integrated Projects (TLP VIP+) .  The workshop was organized by LAU School of Engineering (SOE), in partnership with the American University of Beirut (AUB), Georgia Tech University, and the American University in Cairo (AUC). On October 29, 2021, 46 LAU Tomorrow’s Leaders (TL) students got the opportunity to take the lead in pitching their innovative projects to the TLP Team Leaders and start-ups’ CEOs covering a large spectrum of areas ranging from medical, transportation, and agriculture, to robotics, artificial intelligence, and virtual reality.  Funded by the U.S. Department of State, Middle East Partnership Initiative (MEPI), the TLP workshop focused on increasing students’ employability, entrepreneurship skills, and innovation, and on bridging the gap between skills sought after by employers and skills taught at universities.

After just few months of hands-on learning modules and experiential learning courses, TL students acquired professional soft skills such as project management, teamwork, business, and entrepreneurship; and technical skills such as hands-on lab skills, scientific concepts with the opportunity to exchange knowledge across many boundaries, disciplines, and ranks. As a result, TL students coached by faculty, assisted by graduate students, and co-mentored by industry partners, were able to present their initial innovative projects to key professionals in multidisciplinary domains during the workshop. “The LAU administration knows how tight the conditions are, and we are doing everything we can to lessen the hardship on everyone […]

There is no priority today more pressing for the university than building strategic alliances with industries within Lebanon and well beyond. Such alliances represent an essential infrastructure for R&D capacity building in pursuit of a knowledge economy where your ideas become fragments of imagination and find their way to reality. We want you to be entrepreneurs and we want your imagination to go wild,” said LAU President, Dr. Michel E. Mawad, addressing the students for the event inauguration. LAU-MEPI TLP Project Director and Dean of the School of Engineering Dr. Lina Karam explained how the TLP VIP+ project sparked the interest of many students across both campuses coming from different backgrounds and disciplines, and highlighted the high level of students’ commitment and perseverance to work on concise and comprehensive projects amid tremendous challenges they have been facing due to the pandemic and the compounding crisis hitting Lebanon. “It is wonderful to see the excitement of TL students and the many skills gained within a very short period of time through the MEPI-TLP VIP+ program,” said SOE Dean Dr. Lina Karam.

“This speaks highly of the dedication of our TL students, faculty, and partners, and of the powerful synergy that is created within the MEPI-TLP VIP+ program. Such an impactful initiative would not have been possible without the generous support of the U.S. Department of State, Middle East Partnership Initiative (MEPI).” The opening remarks session was concluded by a welcome note delivered by AUB-MEPI TLP Project Director and Associate Dean of Maroun Semaan Faculty of Engineering and Architecture, Dr. Riad Chedid, who congratulated LAU on the progress they have achieved in project implementation, and emphasized on the significant impact of the MEPI-TLP project during these difficult times, stressing that the MEPI-TLP project comes as a message of hope to support Lebanon’s industry, facilitate the transition of our graduates to the job market, and create a sustainable platform for enhancing collaboration between AUB, LAU, AUC, and local and regional industries. The TLP VIP+ Industry-Academia workshop was diversified and interactive. During the event, CEO/Founders/Co-Founders of 14 early-stage start-ups from Lebanon, Jordan, and Egypt, introduced their businesses to the students and explained the pathway that led them to success while opening doors to professional networking with students for potential hiring.  Additionally, the start-ups’ founders attended the students’ presentations and were able to give them tips on ways to move forward with their projects.

During the event, the LAU-MEPI TLP VIP+ Project Team Leaders gave highlights on their projects: AI for Student-Major Fit presented by Dr. Manal Yunis; AI for Whole Exome Sequencing Analysis and Interpretation presented by Dr. André Mégarbané, Dr. Eliane Chouery and Dr. Cybel Mehawej;  Early Diagnosis of Kidney Damage presented by Dr. Wissam Faour and Dr. Sola Bahous; Renewable Energy presented by Dr. Jawad El Khoury and Jad El Baba;  Smart Irrigation presented by Dr. Jimmy Issa;  Touch and Feel in Virtual and Augmented Reality presented by Dr. Evan Fakhoury and Dr. Ali Ammouri; Transportation Safety presented by Dr. John Khoury, Dr. Myriam Malhame, Dr. Jordan Srour and Dr. Elma Nassar;  Vision, Intelligence and Robotics Applications (VIRA) presented by Dr. Joe Tekli; Startup Lab I and Startup Lab II presented by Dr. Zahy Ramadan and Dr. Abbas Tarhini. The event was wrapped up with a networking lunch during which students got engaged with start-ups’ founders and industry partners through an open and active dialogue.