TRIPOLI – The Ministry of Higher Education and the National Authority for Scientific Research held the inaugural “Libyan Innovation Prize” from December 10-11 at the Radisson hotel, Tripoli. The two-day event was to honor the top 45 undergraduate final year projects at Libyan universities and Technical Colleges covering the various fields of engineering as well as architecture, English language, ITC and pharmacy. Participating students were from universities in Tripoli, Benghazi, Misrata, Nefusa Mountains and Zliten. The event was attended by numerous dignitaries including former Deputy Prime Minister in the Al-Kib government and recent Prime Minister-Elect, Mustafa Abushagur and former Deputy Prime Minister in the Zeidan government Awad Barasi, Mustafa Rajbani the former Labour Minister, Hamid Baghdadi the GNC Higher Education Committee head, and Juma Gamaty, head of the Tagheer Party. There were also, as would be expected, numerous academics and students at the event. Mustafa Abushagur was invited by the organizers to give a presentation on his educational and training journey of 40 years and said that he was very impressed by the level of “proficiency and innovation” of many of the undergraduate projects that were presented. Abushagur said that the “real balance of wealth of the Libya is its capital of knowledge and that is the foundation of a modern economy. This capital”, he added, “is created through education and the attention paid to scientists, and through the creation of the right climate and the encouragement of scientific research and the production of knowledge and converting this into economic value . Concern for education in all its stages is the foundation stone on which to build a modern state”, he added. “The young people who participated and competed for this award are the asset of Libya”, and that he was “pleased with their scientific capabilities , raising my hope in that if these young people have the opportunities they would be creative scientists and engineers. I extend my warmest congratulations to all of them for this dazzling success for they are the hope for our beloved country”, he concluded. Over the two days of the event, 45 final year projects from 8 different faculties were presented, from an original 150 submissions.
After making their presentations, students had to answer questions from the prize judging committee and from the general public. The first prize was LD 7,000, the second LD 4,000 and the third LD 2,000.— Libya Herald
