MUSCAT : The Ministry of Higher Education, Research and Innovation announced that eleven student projects from higher education institutions across the Sultanate of Oman have been selected as winners in the eighth edition of the “Upgrade” programme for 2025, an initiative dedicated to transforming academic graduation projects into viable startup enterprises.

The awards ceremony was held under the auspices of Dr. Said bin Mohammed Al Saqri, Minister of Economy, recognizing outstanding innovation among students.

Dr. Salah bin Sowmar Al Zedjali, Director General of programmes and Capacity Building at the Ministry of Higher Education, Research and Innovation, emphasized the programme’s strategic objective to activate research capabilities and support institutional frameworks in converting conceptual ideas into value-added startup ventures. “This initiative directly contributes to sustainable economic development while strengthening Oman’s competitive positioning in global innovation indices,” stated Al Zedjali.

The programme’s 2025 edition attracted 202 project submissions distributed across three specialized tracks: Emerging Technologies (134 projects), Water Technologies (43 projects), and Financial Technologies (25 projects). Following rigorous evaluation processes, 36 projects advanced to the final competition stage, with eleven ultimately securing program incentives. “This initiative provides Omani youth with critical pathways to develop research concepts into commercially viable business models with both domestic and international investment potential,” Al Zedjali noted.

He further highlighted the programme’s role in bridging higher education outcomes with market requirements while advancing entrepreneurship and knowledge-based economic development. “Today’s recognition marks the commencement of an innovative journey, and we encourage the winning teams to leverage this opportunity toward building Oman’s prosperous future,” he added.

Within the Emerging Technologies track, six projects received program incentives: “Smart Vision: Empowering the Blind and Visually Impaired in Oman through Innovative Glasses,” “Shurfa,” “Chemistry VR: Developing Science Education through Virtual Laboratories,” “Transfer Learning Between Organs and Different Radiography Images for Medical Image Segmentation,” “A Bridge Voice in American Sign Language,” and “Insect Pest Detection Using Computer Vision for Effective Pesticide Deployment.”

The Water Technologies track recognized three winning projects: “Innovative Solar Fenton System for Industrial Wastewater Treatment and Green Hydrogen Production Using Catalysts from Agricultural Waste,” “Smart Irrigation,” and “Design and Development of an Innovative Reverse Osmosis Desalination System to Enhance Treated Water Productivity.”

Financial Technologies track awards were presented to two projects: “Ewan” and “Aman” (a fraud detection platform).

The ceremony featured the signing of strategic cooperation agreements between the Ministry of Higher Education, Research and Innovation and programme partners including the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Youth; Ministry of Transport, Communications and Information Technology; Authority for Small and Medium Enterprises Development; Central Bank of Oman; National Bank of Oman; Oman Telecommunications Company (Omantel); Nama Water Services; and Daleel Petroleum. These partnerships will deliver comprehensive incentive packages to winning teams, comprising financial support, business incubation services, specialized training programs, and developmental resources throughout the twelve-month incubation period.

The closing proceedings included presentations showcasing successful ventures from previous program editions and the inauguration of an exhibition featuring all thirty-six finalist projects. The exhibition demonstrated the projects’ innovative concepts across program categories and their collective contribution to establishing Oman’s knowledge-based economic framework.

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