GUIEC Hult Prize Team Participation at RiseUp Summit

On the main floor of RiseUp, where ideas meet investors and prototypes meet their first real users, Galala University showed up as more than a logo on a banner. The Galala University Innovation & Entrepreneurship Center (GUIEC) served as a community partner and brought with it a clear message: our students build things that matter—and they’re ready to test them in the wild.

Center stage was Dazzify, a startup born in the Hult Prize track at GU. The student team used the Summit to pressure-test their value proposition, gather live user feedback, and pitch to mentors who’ve taken products from demo to distribution. Between mentor clinics and quick-fire Q&As, the team refined messaging, pricing assumptions, and their path to first paying customers.

What this looked like in practice:

• From campus to market: GUIEC coaches framed Dazzify’s pitch around real problem–solution fit, not theory.

• Hands-on validation: usability walk-throughs with Summit attendees; note-taking on objections and “must-have” features.

• Network effects: introductions to founders and ecosystem partners for pilots, internships, and possible micro-grants.

• Hult Prize link: showing how GU’s Hult pipeline turns coursework into prototypes, and prototypes into ventures with traction.

“Our role is to de-risk the earliest steps—give teams smart rooms, frank feedback, and fast connections,” a GUIEC mentor noted after the session.

The partnership with RiseUp helps GUIEC do exactly that: expand students’ learning-by-building arc, connect classrooms to accelerators, and increase exposure to investors, corporate innovation teams, and peer founders across MENA. It also signals a consistent stance from Galala University—student entrepreneurship isn’t a side activity; it’s part of how we teach, assess, and serve our community.