BUiD’s Registrar and Chief Administrative Officer honoured as the longest-serving judge of the Tatawwar Competition

Dubai UAE 

Sallam Sallam 

Hugh Martin, Registrar and Chief Administrative Officer- the British University in Dubai , was selected for the third year to be a judge of the Tatawwar Competition which was conducted online on 4 and 5 March 2022. Mr Martin joined a panel of judges including education leaders, corporate executives, and senior government officials from different countries.

Tatawwar, meaning ‘To develop’ in Arabic, is an exciting, interactive programme set up and organised by HSBC in partnership with Potential.com. The programme has won a number of prestigious international and regional awards, including the International Business Excellence Gold Award for Social Impact 2021, and two Gulf Sustainability Gold Awards: for Best Community Development 2021 and for Learning and Education Programmes 2021.

The programme brings together students, schools, parents, the education sector and the business community to help innovate for a shared future. It gives students the chance to practice important business skills, understand sustainable commitments, connect with the corporate world, and hear from some extraordinary professionals along the way.

Over 15,000 students across MENA have been involved in Tatawwar since its inception 4 years ago. The 2022 competition received 5,320 applications of which 240 students were shortlisted and only 20 students reached the final stage. The finalists came from the UAE, Qatar, Bahrain, Kuwait, Algeria, Oman, and Egypt.

This year the winning students presented prototypes to remove micro-plastics from agricultural water, to build affordable geodesic modular housing, to produce cheap, durable building bricks from waste plastics, and to filter clean drinking water from waste water.

During the Awards Ceremony, Hugh was honoured by HSBC as the longest-serving judge of the Competition’s Finals. He commented, “I’ve been privileged to represent The British University in Dubai as a judge for the third year in what is an innovative and powerful initiative. I extend my thanks again to HSBC in the Middle East and to potential.com for continuing to support this vital programme: the passion, energy and creativity of the students I’ve engaged with during my time with Tatawwar never fail to surprise, refresh and enthuse me.”

While being an academic institution, BUiD does not overlook the need to have active links with the community, industry and professional bodies to make positive contributions to the community.