Prototypes for Humanity selects 100 university innovations for Dubai summit

Prototypes for Humanity has unveiled the 100 academic projects in its 2026 cohort. They will be exhibited at the Dubai Future Solutions – Prototypes for Humanity summit in Dubai from 18 to 21 November 2026, part of Dubai Future Week. The cohort includes a solar device that turns salty or contaminated water into drinking water, as well as projects in fertiliser production and food packaging.

The projects were selected from thousands of applications submitted by academics at more than 1,000 universities in over 120 countries. They cover healthcare, agriculture, water, energy, mobility, the environment and civil society.

A cohort drawn from more than 75 universities

The selected teams are made up of students, recent graduates and professors from more than 75 universities. These include Harvard, MIT, Oxford, the University of Cambridge, ETH Zürich, Imperial College London, Cornell University, the National University of Singapore and Delft University of Technology.

Universities in emerging economies such as Ghana, Peru, Morocco and Chile are also represented. UAE institutions in the cohort include NYU Abu Dhabi, Khalifa University and the American University of Sharjah. Research fields range from genomics and quantum mechanics to nanorobotics, architecture and molecular biochemistry.

Water and food technologies at the Prototypes for Humanity summit

Solarstill Box, developed at the Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology in South Korea, is a portable, flat-pack device that uses sunlight to turn salty or contaminated water into drinking water without electricity. Field tests in Tanzania produced 6–7.5 litres of clean water per day. The developers are targeting a cost of less than $20 per unit, and the device is intended for communities with limited access to clean water.

Aqtiva, from the University of Alberta in Canada, is a reactor that produces nitrogen fertiliser directly on farms using air, water and electricity. Early greenhouse trials showed crop yield increases of up to 50%, while conventional fertiliser use fell by around 30%.

The other food projects include:

• Agrinowrap, from the Indian Institute of Technology Delhi, turns rice husks and sugarcane waste into biodegradable packaging that changes colour as food starts to spoil. In initial tests, strawberries stayed fresh for eleven days instead of three, and bread for twenty days instead of five.
• AlgaePalm, from NYU Abu Dhabi, is developing an alternative to palm oil using desert microalgae that can grow in saltwater.
• Future Food Thickeners, from Cornell University, is engineering plant-based starches that could replace conventional food additives.

Projects in other fields include an AI tool that analyses speech for early signs of Alzheimer’s disease, a robot that maps underground utilities without GPS, and a process that dissolves spent battery materials in under 15 minutes at room temperature.

From university research to pilots in the UAE

Through its Venture Building track, Prototypes for Humanity provides academic founders with funding, business expertise, team support and managed industry collaborations. Each team works for a year with an industry partner, who is also a potential first adopter. The programme said it co-designs and funds pilots with government, private companies and investors to test technologies in the settings they were designed for.

Several teams have run pilots in the UAE since this work began in 2024. Oxara, an ETH Zürich spinout that turns construction waste into low-carbon building materials, has piloted its technology with a Dubai concrete manufacturer. P-Vita, founded by graduates of Egypt’s Zewail City, is expanding trials of its biotechnology-based fertilisers with UAE farmers.

Virufy, from Japan’s University of Fukui, is working with Dubai Health on an AI-powered screening tool that analyses cough sounds to detect respiratory disease. Nearly 200 patients are enrolled in its clinical study.

Tadeu Baldani Caravieri, Director of Prototypes for Humanity, said: “The calibre of this year’s projects is a testament to the relationship Prototypes for Humanity has built with global academics over more than a decade. We are delighted to see such a robust cohort in areas so critical for the future, from better diagnosis and immunisation methods to energy diversification, edge computing, food and water safety, and cybersecurity. And we are proud of our expanding programme helping academic entrepreneurs to translate their work into applied, market-aligned solutions.”

The programme also has a track for professors whose original research is aligned with industry needs. Their work is published in a peer-reviewed international publication backed by Prototypes for Humanity, which is now in its second edition. The programme also coordinates collaborations between professors and individual organisations to address operational challenges.

Awards and organisers

The summit ends with the Dubai Future Solutions – Prototypes for Humanity Awards, which recognise one project in each of five categories. The five winning teams will share a US$100,000 prize. The international jury is chaired by the programme’s patron, Her Highness Sheikha Latifa bint Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum.

Prototypes for Humanity is an initiative of Art Dubai Group. It is supported by the Dubai Future Foundation and the Hussain Sajwani – DAMAC Foundation, with Dubai International Financial Centre as founding partner. The exhibition is held at The Boulevard, Emirates Towers, and the full list of projects is available on the Prototypes for Humanity website.

Frequently asked questions