CAIRO: In an effort to integrate engineering with economy, the annual student conference Engineering Yields Economy (EYE) brought engineering, economics and commerce students together to develop business plans for innovative projects. In the closing ceremony on Tuesday, students from the faculties of engineering and commerce at Ain Shams University presented their projects and explained their vision for the implementation phase. After attending four workshops at the conference, students learned how to create profitable projects that would help solve some problems facing Egyptian society, taking into consideration the financial and economic status. A total of 12 new projects were created during the EYE 2007 conference, but only the top three were presented during the ceremony. The Chair Mobile ranked first among the presented projects. Equipped with four pistons, the wheelchair can be used to climb stairs mechanically and would make it easier for the user to move. Students presented ways of implementing the project and explained their economic vision for it. The Digital Pharmacy - ranked second - is a small digital device that would remind people on medication of the exact times they should take their prescribed medicines. The project ranking third was called The Incubator, and aims to provide public and private hospitals with high-quality incubators at lower prices. Hadia El Henawy, dean of the faculty of engineering at Ain Shams University, was proud of the students' work. "I am happy to see the fruitful results and the creative efforts of our future graduates .The idea of EYE was developed by students of the faculties of engineering, economics and commerce in both Cairo and Ain Shams Universities. It was nothing but economics and engineering complementing each other. This pushes us to think about the importance of cooperation and coordination between all fields and specializations, said El Henawy. She said that the fruitful results of the conference show the capabilities of Egyptian youth and their potential to reach higher positions in many fields worldwide. "Small projects are the hope of our youth, so let's help them and give them our support, El Henawy added. Ahmed Adel, the academic supervisor of EYE, said all projects presented and developed during the conference contained both the economic and engineering aspects and implied that Egyptian graduates are creative enough when they seize the opportunities available. "We are not at the closing ceremony. It is just the starting point of these projects being implemented and coming to life, said Adel. Ismail Ezz El Din, the keynote speaker at the conference, said the three projects were inventive. "These projects showed the creative thinking of Egyptian students that is always driven and pushed forward through persistence, great efforts and determination. He encouraged the idea of Egyptians cooperating and working together - like what the students did in the group projects - adding that it would help Egypt develop 20 times faster than it does today. Ezz El Din recognized the potential of the digital pharmacy project and promised students he would provide them with a suitable budget to ensure that the small project sees the light of day.
