AMMAN — Hundreds of Jordanian university
students withdrew from this year's "Hult Prize" global competition
after learning about the participation of Israeli universities.
اضافة اعلان
The "Hult Prize" award, valued at
one million US dollars, is a youth platform and global competition held in
collaboration with the United Nations. It starts annually at universities for
students, where a problem or challenge is presented each year. The
competition's framework involves solving this problem by creating an idea for a
startup company to win the one million US dollar prize in the final stage.
The Director of the Hult Prize campus at
Al-Balqa Applied University - Polytechnic, Engineer Ahmed Abu Diyya, announced
his withdrawal along with all teams from his university participating in the
competition, totaling up to 250 students. He canceled all events and
activities, converting them into a local and national competition.
The engineer emphasized that the complete
student withdrawal is a national and ethical responsibility they didn't
hesitate to uphold. It represents the free Jordanian voice rejecting
normalization despite the temptations, prizes, and opportunities offered by the
competition to students, including the grand prize of one million US dollars
along with technical and academic support.
The engineer confirmed that the withdrawal was
a unified collective decision between the national competition team in Jordan
and all organizers from Jordanian universities, as well as all participating
Arab countries from the Gulf to the Arab Maghreb.
He added that the boycott compels them to seek
national and fair alternatives meeting students' aspirations and the nation's
interests. Hence, several national, Arab, and regional initiatives were
launched. The first was the "Project Two Market" innovative projects
exhibition and competition, successfully held at Al-Balqa Applied University on
March 5 as a national substitute for the Hult Prize competition for Al-Balqa
students. Additionally, the Jordanian Entrepreneurship competition was
organized by the former body of the national team for the Hult Prize
competition in Jordan.
He further stated that the joint announcement
of the withdrawal decision came after the global competition management
insisted on involving Israeli occupation universities, including students who
had previously served a compulsory enlistment in the occupation army. This
completely contradicts the principles of students advocating for rejecting
normalization in all its forms and names. Additionally, the participation of
soldiers with hands stained with the blood of innocents in Palestine goes
against the standards and principles of the competition itself.
The engineer called for intensified efforts
and support from social institutions and companies for Jordanian university
students in general. This could be achieved by integrating them into useful and
national extracurricular activities with clear visions and goals.
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