Set to be the most impactful showcase of graduates projects to date, the upcoming edition of Global Grad Show has seen record applications from over 70 countries, boasting a 70% increase in the number of universities compared to 2020.

With top graduates from 470 leading universities across Europe, Americas, Asia, Africa and the Middle East having applied to this year’s edition, the 2021 selection of international projects will be unveiled online on 8 November, featuring the most innovative solutions to some of the greatest challenges of our times.

Launched in 2015 as a key feature of Dubai Design Week, Global Grad Show has since grown into an international programme supporting university graduates from across the world whose research and ideas offer solutions to major social and environmental issues.

“Everything we do is fundamentally for a better future - for people and the planet. Our programme is a platform for the next generation of impact innovators to grow,” said Tadeu Baldani Caravieri, Director, Global Grad Show. “It nurtures and connects transformative projects with the public, investors and stakeholders from the global development agenda.”

This year, participants have put forward innovation in fields ranging from bioengineering to cloud computing, neuroscience and urban design, hailing from universities such as Harvard, Stanford, MIT, Oxford and Cambridge, alongside regional colleges in developing economies including Bhutan, Ethiopia, El Salvador, Jamaica and Brunei.

  • A submission by DIDI in Dubai, A’seedbot is a robot that plants seeds in the dessert.
  • QAED, a submission from the Delft University of Technology in the Netherlands, is an AED training device with all features needed to learn how to use AED and is also is the first device that supports instructors in the teaching process.
  • Reverso, a Global Grad Show submission from Madrid-based IED, is a car mounted device that purifies the air from IED.

Global Grad Show includes initiatives such as MENA Grad Show, a physical exhibition presenting some of the most exciting academic innovations from across the region at Dubai Design Week, as well as the Entrepreneurship Programme, a four-month development journey for university innovators who want to advance their projects towards market launch.

Through the programming, opportunities and community built over the past 7 years, Global Grad Show has become a global converging point for talented minds at the intersection of innovation, academic research and social impact, reinforcing its alignment with the UAE’s future-looking strategies.

“Dubai is a city where a better future is constantly being made possible and Global Grad Show is both a manifestation and a catalyst of that drive,” Caravieri added.

For more information about Global Grad Show, click here.