CUET holds HULT Prize finale on campus

The grand finale of the Hult Prize On-Campus Round at Chittagong University of Engineering and Technology (CUET), the world's largest student business competition, concluded with Team Nexus emerging as the champion.

The final round occurred on Friday, February 28, in CUET's Business IT Incubator auditorium. Over 100 teams participated in the initial stage of the competition. From them, 25 teams advanced to the second round, and the top 16 teams qualified for the semi-finals. Finally, the top six teams—Planeteers, Resonance, Nexus, Touristic, Concrete Heads and The Incognito—competed in the final round.

The final round was judged by an esteemed panel of professionals, including Dr Jamal Uddin Ahmed, Professor of Mechanical Engineering at CUET; Dr Ujjwal Kumar Deb, Professor of Mathematics at CUET; Dr Adnan Mannan, Professor of Genetic Engineering and Biotechnology at the University of Chittagong; Atik Fahad, Director and CEO of Dhaka Capitals; Engineer. Shahiduzzaman Kiron, Managing Director of K.Dot.Co; Engineer. Jabed Uddin, CEO of Digital IT; Mohammad Saifuddin Munna, Chairman of Robotry BD; Anindya Das, Maintenance Manager at Unilever Bangladesh; and Riad Ashraf, CEO of  Intellectify

Engineer Jabed Uddin, CEO of Digital IT, emphasised the significance of the competition, stating: "I hope more entrepreneurs will emerge from the CUET campus. The ideas presented today have great potential for implementation. We receive excellent ideas yearly, but practical execution remains a challenge."

The judges declared Team Nexus the champion, while Concrete Heads and Planeteer secured first and second runner-up positions.

Expressing his excitement, Abrar Azmain, a member of Team Nexus, said: "Winning in our first Hult Prize competition was beyond our expectations. However, during the presentation, I had a strong feeling that our hard work would not be in vain, and Alhamdulillah, it turned out to be true. I am deeply grateful to the organising committee and my respected teachers. InshaAllah, we will continue striving for greater achievements."

Adil Raihan, Campus Director of the Hult Prize at CUET, shared his thoughts: "Alhamdulillah, we successfully concluded the On-Campus program. Hosting the Hult Prize at CUET after a long time is undoubtedly a moment of pride for us. We are immensely grateful to our respected faculty members, organising committee members, and all participating teams."

He added, "CUET students have demonstrated their innovative mindset and business acumen in every round. I hope our winning teams will make a mark internationally and bring their business ideas to reality. Best wishes to all participants, including the champions and runners-up."

The top three finalist teams will now compete at the regional level. The regional winners will then move on to the national stage, and the national winners will represent Bangladesh at the international level of the Hult Prize competition.

The event was made possible with the generous support of Digiden IT Ltd., the diamond sponsor; Novelty Engineering, the Strategic partner; The Business Standard, the print and online media partner; Channel 24, the channel partner; KY Steel, the logistics partner; The Graduates, the youth engagement partner; and CUETnews24.com, the media partner.

The Hult Prize is a globally recognised competition that fosters student entrepreneurship and social innovation. With its success at CUET, the event has once again highlighted the immense potential of young entrepreneurs to shape the future of business and technology.