BEEAH’s award highlights promising innovations in sustainability

Held under the patronage of Sheikha Bodour bint Sultan Al Qasimi, President of the American University of Sharjah, the award recognises innovative ideas and projects from individuals and groups representing schools, universities, government institutions, and corporations internationally for contributing to a sustainable future. It builds on BEEAH’s decade-long legacy of engaging and attracting thousands of entries focused on innovation and sustainability in the UAE, while expanding its scope as a global platform that showcases inspiring solutions for an environmentally progressive future. 

Underscoring the award’s purpose, Sheikha Bodour bint Sultan Al Qasimi said: “Sustainability is a global challenge, and to address it, innovations are being developed all around the world. The Future Pioneers Award is seeing more countries participating with each edition, underscoring the importance of uniting innovations and spotlighting them for collective progress. Congratulations to the 2024-2025 winners, who have shared innovations that have the potential to make positive global impact.” 

Congratulating the winners, Khaled Al Huraimel, Group CEO and Vice Chairman at BEEAH, stated: “Every year, BEEAH’s Future Pioneers Award aims to spotlight innovative solutions that can help solve some of the world’s most pressing environmental challenges. We are pleased to see an increased engagement both locally and globally this edition, which indicates growing awareness and commitment towards innovating for a sustainable future. We are pleased that the Future Pioneers Award is contributing to a culture of ingenuity in the UAE and beyond, from encouraging knowledge exchange among corporations, fostering knowledge building and critical thinking among students, to supporting institutions to push the boundaries of innovation for a better tomorrow.” 

The awards ceremony commenced with opening remarks from Khaled Al Huraimel, Group CEO and Vice Chairman at BEEAH, and Hind Al Huwaidi, Chief Executive Development Officer at BEEAH. During the event, Emirati inventor Fatima Al Kaabi delivered an inspirational talk, highlighting the role of innovation in crossing new frontiers for positive impact on society and the environment. The ceremony ended with the award distribution in the presence of Her Excellency Sheikha Bodour Al Qasimi, recognising 15 winning sustainable innovations and initiatives across five categories. 

The panel of judges, comprising esteemed professionals from the academic, digital governance, and strategy and innovation sectors, followed a rigorous process to select the winners. It screened 165 applications, before shortlisting ten in each category after an initial scoring exercise. The shortlisted candidates were then given the opportunity to showcase their innovations to the panel in an in-depth interview process, during which they shared details on their innovations, focussing on novelty in comparison to current solutions, real-world application and scalability. Based on the interview and the potential positive impact of their innovation, judges assigned a second score to each candidate. During a final meeting, the panel of judges performed a score calibration exercise, discussing the outcomes of the evaluation and ensuring that the most promising entries rise to the top. 

Open to individuals, groups, and organisations from across the globe, the 2024–2025 edition of the FPA attracted participants from ten countries, including the UAE, United States, Saudi Arabia, Oman, and India. The top three winners for each category are provided financial rewards to begin the process of scaling their emerging innovations for a sustainable future. During the ceremony, Sheikha Bodour bint Sultan Al Qasimi and Khaled Al Huraimel awarded each of the winners, who all submitted from the UAE with highly competitive entries.  

FPA 2024-2025 Individual & Group Recipients

 Sustainability Product

1^st Place: Dr. Zafar Said, a professor, research and US-patent holder based in the UAE, won for demonstrating the incredible potential of integrating nanoparticles into traditional refrigerants, which improves cooling efficiency in HVAC systems and generates significant emissions savings.

2^nd Place: Alya Khalid Al Memari, Dalfa Ali, and Fatima Mukhtar, university students in Sharjah, won for their unique design of an ellipsoidal floating photovoltaic (FPV) system. Addressing the challenges of typical FPV systems, their design maximising sun exposure and minimises operational costs.

3^rd Place: Eman Al Marzooqi, a schoolteacher from Sharjah, won for her showcase of a unique robot called “Sadoom”, built by the students she mentored. The robot shreds paper and introduces seeds to produce plantable discs, promoting the collection of paper waste while shaping a greener environment.

​Sustainability Champion

1^st Place: Sainath Manikandan, a school student in the UAE, won for passionate advocacy of science, technology, robotics, engineering, arts, and mathematics to solve environmental challenges. Through his activities and interests, he has rallied inspired and educated his peers to innovate solutions for a sustainable future.

2^nd Place: Taif Aljasmi, a school student and young entrepreneur in the UAE, won for her utilisation of technology and robotics for positive environmental action. Her active collaboration with organisations and initiatives in the UAE, has raised awareness on environmental challenges, including carbon emissions and waste.

3^rd Place: Saanvi Rao, a school student in the UAE, won for promoting environmental stewardship by actively engaging with communities in her school, and on social media, to ignite innovations that address specific environmental challenges, including water conservation, circularity and clean energy production.

FPA 2024-2025 Corporate Recipients

       Sustainability Leadership:

1^st Place: Layla Ibrahim Ali, principal at Al Darari Kindergarten in Sharjah, won for her commitment to leading education in the area of sustainability, fostering a spirit of climate-positive innovation among students and teachers alike and expanding her reach to communities by documenting and publishing her efforts in a research paper.

2^nd Place: Dheekra Aldeeb, head of student affairs at the Atika Bint Zaid Primary School Khorfakkan in Sharjah, won for her project “Leadership Drives Sustainability”, which promotes sustainable practices among students, teachers, and parents. She also encourages student entrepreneurship to produce eco-friendly products.

3^rd Place: Nadia Darwish Abdallah Ahmed, a former school principal from Fujairah, won for her lifetime commitment to embedding the traditional values of sustainability from Emirati farming heritage into the moral fabric of future generations. By supporting home-based businesses and farms, she empowered grassroot economies while fostering social cohesion in societies.

​Sustainability Initiative of the Year

1^st Place: The Sharjah Electricity,Water, and Gas Authority (SEWA) won for launching an education program for homeowners and public sector organisations, which ultimately was adopted across the emirate of Sharjah, generating significant savings on emissions and water resources.

2^nd Place: Hemat Mahgoub Ahmed, Reham Hosni and Reema Shakir, schoolteachers from the Sheikha Meera Bint Mohammed Al Suwaidi School in Sharjah, won for their commitment to incorporate sustainability education as part of students’ moral development. The teachers actively engaged students in eco-conscious activities including sustainable farming, landscaping, and crop production.

3^rd Place: Shyji Joy, a schoolteacher from the Leaders Private School in Sharjah, won for her continued mentorship of students, empowering them to form their own committee to take climate-positive action at school and among residential communities.

​Sustainability Hero

1^st Place: Sheefana Nafees, vice principal at India International School in Sharjah, won for promoting environmental awareness by educating students, staff, and the community through workshops, seminars, and campaigns on waste reduction, energy conservation, recycling, and more.

2^nd Place: Anjum Hasan, a schoolteacher at Delhi Private School in Sharjah, won for environmental stewardship and encouraging students to adopt eco-friendly practices, including the use of biodegradable or plant-based materials for packaging, including cornstarch, seaweed, or bamboo, minimising waste in the environment.

3^rd Place: Khawla Alshamsi, a laboratory specialist at Al Qarya School in Fujairah, won for engaging students to take part in environmentally positive activities, including tree planting, gardening and ocean cleanup projects within the school yard, while actively engaging parents and the broader community through social media.

Highlighting the significance of the innovations, Hind Al Huwaidi said: “I am inspired by the incredible solutions proposed by the participants during this edition of the FPA. The entries address universal environmental and societal challenges, underscoring creativity and commitment from the participants. Our expert panel reviewed hundreds of applications, each with its own uniquely valuable propositions. I would like to thank all participants for their efforts, as well as the judges, who skillfully took on the challenging task of shortlisting, evaluating, and selecting the winners. Congratulations to the winners, whose innovations we look forward to seeing in action among communities close to home and around the globe, driving positive environmental outcomes.” 

Every year, the FPA invites individuals and groups, as well as corporations and public sector organisations, to apply to the FPA, which spotlights innovations to ignite wide-scale positive impact on the environment. Submissions come in from all over the world across demographics, from school students and teachers to university students and professors, as well as industry professionals. Within the educational ecosystem, the award contributes to rewarding and stimulating academic experiences. For corporations and organisations, the award serves as a catalyst for further advancements, inspiring innovations in sustainability that can scale across industries. For over a decade, BEEAH has launched multiple competitions, awards, and outreach initiatives to drive environmental action at the grassroots level. Through the Academy of Sustainability, BEEAH engages hundreds of schools annually across the UAE. The Academy collaborates with thousands of teachers and integrates sustainability education into curricula, impacting nearly 300,000 students. 

The Future Pioneers Award represents BEEAH’s latest initiative to engage academia, corporations, and the wider public in fostering climate-positive action. For more details on the awards, judging criteria, and categories, visit https://futurepioneersaward.com/.