The only exhibition of its kind, showcasing graduate projects from over 100 universities from 43 countries, in the fields of design, science, technology and engineering, Global Grad Show returns with the most diverse edition to date.

New entrants include established names such as Columbia University, Goldsmiths and The University of Pennsylvania, alongside leading universities from countries participating for the first time, including Colombia, Kuwait and the Philippines.

Global Grad Show is a significant component of Dubai Design Week, which is held under the patronage of Her Highness Sheikha Latifa bint Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Chairperson of Dubai Culture & Arts Authority. Earlier this year, Global Grad Show was named as a key initiative under the Dubai Culture & Arts Authority’s plan to evolve Dubai into a global hub for culture and innovation.

Her Highness Sheikha Latifa bint Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Chairperson of Dubai Culture & Arts Authority, said: “As a platform for the next generation of designers, Global Grad Show is one of the most vital elements of Dubai Design Week, offering unprecedented opportunities for students and graduates to present their work to organisations, investors and the wider public. The presentations feature design-driven solutions for a wide range of global challenges from climate change to accessibility to science and health. This initiative is at the heart of Dubai’s vision to create a brighter future for all people through progress and innovation. Global Grad Show is a call to action for government and private entities to revisit their challenges and needs in response to current socioeconomic issues. I encourage all entities to engage with the students and collaborate to bring their ideas to life.”

His Excellency Mohammed I. AlShaibani, Executive Director and Chief Executive Officer of Investment Corporation of Dubai, said: “With each year of Investment Corporation of Dubai’s participation at Global Grad Show, we have witnessed ever greater enthusiasm and interest from the international cultural, creative, and intellectual communities. This reception is a true endorsement to the calibre that the Global Grad Show has developed over its five years. It brings the most innovative minds to Dubai, and facilitates the advancement of society through new design solutions. These are key drivers for ICD’s partnership with the Global Grad Show, and it gives me great pleasure to welcome everyone back to Dubai.”

Under the curation of Eleanor Watson, Global Grad Show explores how innovation can impact our lives through different spheres: The Human, The Home, The Community, The City and The Planet. Some of the projects correspond to themes such as health, wealth & disparity, gender & equality, sustainability, education and technology. The projects for Global Grad Show are selected based on their response to a range of criteria, as well as the four tenets of the exhibition: Innovation, Impact, Equality and Exchange.

Ranging from high-tech to low-tech solutions, highlight projects in the 2019 exhibition include: ‘Swiv’, a toothbrush for children with cognitive disabilities, allowing them to clean their teeth with a single physical motion; ‘Jarvis’, a mixed reality headset, enabling doctors to accurately measure the brain’s response to distractions or activities when conducting cognitive tests for severe head trauma, pharmaceutical efficacy and ADHD; and ‘Ro-Biotics’, a microscopic robot created from 4D printed materials to be ingested in the place of an antibiotic, which captures infections in the blood stream.

Entrepreneurship Programme

Offering participating graduates the opportunity to advance their projects into start-ups, the Global Grad Show Entrepreneurship Programme invites graduates to interact with stakeholders from the entrepreneurship ecosystem and focuses on training that covers business skills and methodologies to develop their projects.

Mohammad AlShehhi, CEO of A.R.M. Holding said: “The decade-long investment we are making through the A.R.M fund for Global Grad Show speaks to our earnest dedication to social and economic endeavors working for the benefit of society. We are proud to be helping graduates from all over the world turn their innovative concepts into reality.”

The programme’s ambition is to support graduates to develop viable businesses and attract young innovation talent from around the world, to Dubai through the support of A.R.M. Holding and in line with the Emirate’s vision to elevate the level of talent flowing into the country and region.