Innovation competition to launch in technical schools in 6 governorates

CAIRO – 24 March 2018: An innovation competition for students in technical schools will be launched tomorrow by the co-working space Ideaspace and the Workforce Improvement and Skills Enhancement (WISE) project, funded by the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID), in cooperation with the Ministry of Education.

The competition is open to all students in technical schools in the governorates of Aswan, Alexandria, Port Said, Ismailia, Red Sea and Damietta. The door will close on April 20.

Moez Bellah al-Sherif of Ideaspace said that the competition aims at searching for young calibers who can innovate and transform their ideas into successful projects.

He said that the criteria for choosing ideas depend on the quality and ability for implementation on the ground and to have an added value and a targeted market.

The competition’s prizes will be awarded to the best 10 projects; each will get LE 10,000 to kick start the project, in addition to getting technical and financial support to transform the idea into a project, Sherif said.

WISE is a USAID-funded project that aims to improve technical secondary education to meet the needs of the job market, benefiting vocational school students and teachers as well as the private sector.

The project establishes partnerships between businesses and technical schools in order to understand skills needed for employment, creating a pool of qualified candidates, and linking students with jobs, according to the USAID.