CoU hosts Realme present 'Hult Prize on-campus 2024' finale

Comilla University (CoU) hosted the Realme-present 'Hult Prize on-campus 2024' grand finale at Bangladesh Academy for Rural Development (BARD) on 16 February. 

The competition started at 10am at the Mainamati auditorium, BARD.

'Team Kriegsmarine' was hailed as the champions of the on-campus round in CoU for standing out with their innovative idea.

Winner 'Team Kriegsmarine' focused on building an innovative startup aiming to develop 'Biodegradable Bandage'- which could be the first ever eco-friendly bandage in Bangladesh compared to all other Band-Aids available, that are made of plastic.

'Team Pioneer' secured the position of first runners-up for introducing a prototype of a tour guide app to help tourists avoid scammers. Meanwhile, 'Team Kacchi' emerged as the second runners-up offering an initial startup to set up a glass recycling unit to reshape the craft industry.

The three winning teams will receive the honorary of Tk15,000,  Tk10,000 and Tk5,000 prize money respectively.

This on-campus programme witnessed the participation of 221 teams. The three-round journey started with the registration process on 10 December and ultimately led 10 teams to the grand finale to pitch their socially benefitting ventures to a distinguished judging panel to win a place at the Regional Summits.

The 10 teams that competed in the grand finale were Dynamic Marketers, Team Kargsmarine, Team Amoeba, Team Kacchi, Team Shotoranji, Team Spark Blaze, Team Entropology, Team Orbit, Team Apexali Innovators and Team Pioneer.

The panel of judges for the final round included prominent figures like Abul Kalam Hasan Tagar (Founder & Chairman, Halima Group), Sakif Amzad Al Haque (Digital Media Planning & Strategy manager at PRAN-RFL Group), Tanmoy Das (Head of Marketing, Abdul Monem Beverages LTD), Tarif Mohammed Khan (Brand Marketing, Business Strategy and Communications Expert), Yasin Shohag (Head-Strategic Business Partner, Commercial, Coca-Cola).

Visionary leaders such as Sazzad Ahsan, Co-Host of 2 Cents Podcast, also the Founder & Lead Consultant of Brandmark Consultancy, along with Neel Nafis, renowned content creator and freelancer, Forbes 30 Under 30 awardee Shah Rafayat Chowdhury and CEO of Chorki Redwan Roni spoke at the event as a distinguished guest. 

They delivered their insights and suggestions upon the queries raised by young hopeful student entrepreneurs, encouraging the students to utilise the presented ideas to develop innovative startups.

 Redwan Roni, a distinguished filmmaker, said, "It's great to see what you are doing outside of your studies. I want to be involved in these programmes more because coming here makes tomorrow's work much easier. Do your job, don't pay attention to what others say. You have to believe first that you can make good films."

A spectacular cultural performance by singer and songwriter Shuvro was also arranged after the Prize-giving ceremony.

Hult Prize competition at CoU on-campus round was organised under the lead of Campus Director Sumaiya Kabir, with the guidance and leadership of the advisors Mohammad Abdul Majed Patwari, Mohammad Zahid Hasan and more. 'Realme' was the title sponsor for this year's Hult Prize at CoU 2024. The Business Standard was the active Media Partner in this competition.

"This is the culmination of the hard work of so many aspiring student entrepreneurs among us who are working to drive social change," said Sumaiya Kabir, expressing their gratitude to all the supporters for enabling the first ever offline Hult Prize endeavour being arranged in Comilla University campus.

She added, "Organising such a big program off-campus is a huge deal for Comilla University. From managing sponsors to handling media and overall logistics, we have been able to manage everything smoothly without any hassle, which feels very satisfying."

It is noteworthy that The theme for this year's Hult Prize competition was 'Unlimited.' The 2024 challenge will be open to any student team aiming to tackle challenges outlined in the UN SDGs. The competition has been held since 2018 and has been an inter-university event involving students from various countries.