Prototypes for Humanity Celebrates 10 Years of Global Innovation in Dubai

This November, Dubai will host the 10th anniversary showcase of Dubai Future Solutions – Prototypes for Humanity, a groundbreaking international program fostering academic innovation with real-world impact. For a decade, this initiative has connected leading universities and researchers worldwide to tackle pressing global challenges.

The program's enduring success is evident in the overwhelming response to its 2024 cohort: over 2,700 applications poured in from prestigious institutions including Stanford, Oxford, Cambridge, ETH Zurich, and MIT, showcasing a vibrant global landscape of innovation. This impressive pool of submissions highlights the growing recognition of Prototypes for Humanity's unique ability to translate academic research into tangible solutions.

From 19-21 November, Dubai will become the epicenter of global academic innovation, showcasing 100 shortlisted projects selected for their potential to address critical issues in areas such as agriculture, healthcare, energy, civil society, mobility, water, and the environment. Each project, rigorously vetted for its research-backed impact, represents a significant step towards solving global problems at scale.

The culmination of the 10th anniversary event will see an international jury awarding a $100,000 cash prize to five exceptional projects demonstrating remarkable research and potential for widespread positive impact. This significant financial contribution underscores the program's commitment to empowering the next generation of problem-solvers.

Prototypes for Humanity boasts an unparalleled network, engaging 20,000 professors from over 800 universities in more than 100 countries—a network encompassing 90% of the world's top universities. This extensive reach ensures a diverse range of perspectives and expertise are harnessed to identify and nurture solutions with global relevance.

Tadeu Baldani Caravieri, Director of Prototypes for Humanity, described the event as the world's most comprehensive gathering of global academic innovation, emphasizing the breadth and depth of the 2024 applications spanning science, technology, and creative studies. The sheer volume and diversity of submissions reflect an exciting global surge in innovation dedicated to addressing humanity's most pressing challenges. The 10th anniversary showcase promises to be a pivotal moment, highlighting the power of collaborative academic research to create real-world change.

In 2023, projects from the USA, UK, Switzerland and Kenya were among the top five awarded, featuring innovations in carbon-negative building material, eco-friendly bioplastics, bio-engineered yeast, satellite monitoring for disaster-prone structures and low-cost carbon separation. Among the 100 projects to be unveiled in 2024 are innovations in AI-enabled medical diagnosis and fake news detection, drug-discovery and immunisation, sustainable mobility, water access and critical action to solve global pollution. The event will take place alongside the Dubai Future Forum 2024 – the largest gathering of futurists in the world. Prototypes for Humanity receives applications from science, technology and creative universities around the world, across six continents, ranging from leading global universities to local colleges in emerging economies.