Birzeit University Honors Winners of "Best Business Plan" Contest

The Birzeit University Najjad Zeenni Information Technology Center of Excellence organized on February 25, 2014 a competition for the best business plan for a local pilot project. The contest took place on campus, as part of the Empowerment of Future Entrepreneurs project, funded by the Dutch organization, Spark. The project will enable ambitious graduates to play a role in the economic development process and alleviating youth unemployment.

Four hundred students at Birzeit University, Polytechnic University, An-Najah National University, Al-Quds, Arab American University, and the University College of Palestine participated in the competition. The students were trained in using the programs Business Model Canvas and Entrepreneurship, and more than 132 pilot project concepts were presented. The best projects were then selected from the national pool.

Center director Ibrahim Abu Qutaish said, "We hope to transform the campus with business incubators for pilot projects, which provide student entrepreneurs and alumni and faculty members the opportunity to start their own businesses and make them self-sustainable.”

During the competition, the projects that had won a local round were presented before a jury comprised of representatives of the education sector, private sector and the government, who chose the best six projects and awarded their creators a cash prize of 1,600 Euros.

The IT center will also assist the winners in promoting their companies by registering them and organizing specialized training courses in corporate finance and accounting courses in market research.