GUST students were awarded First Place at the closing ceremony of the Warba Bank Rowad Innovation Program. The four students competed against three other local university teams for the prize after a 10-week program of customized workshops and lectures led by Warba Bank coordinated through our Office of Student Life, which kicked off in September 2019. The goal of the program is to support the innovation of banking services and come up with creative solutions in the Islamic banking sector.The participating GUST students were: Nouf Alghannam, Reem Mohamed, Sarah Alalban, Sundos Al Ashqar. The students were selected in September 2019 from the university by a Warba Bank Committee to enter the program. Over the 10 weeks, they completed workshops and lectures to learn all the information they need to know in the banking field, such as the different services and products currently available in order to successfully complete the assignment. The other participating universities wereKuwait University, Australian College of Kuwait, and the American University of Kuwait.During the closing ceremony, the students had to pitch their idea to a panel of industry experts, and were evaluated based on their final presentation, innovative & fresh thinking, the practicality of implementing their ideas, and team effort in meeting all delivery requirements. The GUST team was awarded the first place prize for their innovative ideas and stellar presentation. The grand prize was KD5,000 and KD2,500 for the runners-up.GUST President, Professor Walid Bouhamra, Vice President for Professional Development and Community Services, Dr. Ahmad Al-Darbas, Senior Manager of the Community Engagement and Communications Division, Anwar Al-Sabah, and Head of the Office of Student Life, Aseel Abounemah, subsequently met with the students following their win to congratulate them on this outstanding achievement.GUST President, Professor Walid Bouhamra, said, “The creativity and determination of our students, armed with the knowledge they receive at GUST, is a powerful equation as demonstrated by their outstanding performance. I am confident that their success in the future is assured, and I wish them the very best of success.”GUST continuously encourages and supports its students in all extracurricular activities that can develop and shape their character and their development for after they graduate. It prizes a both academic performance and community driven activities for a well-rounded educational experience.As part of GUST’s new goals and values, it is keen to focus more on impact within the community and so, it was an easy decision to embark on this journey with one of its model students and athletes. The university prides itself in supporting the skills and talents of all its students, inside and outside the classroom, for a truly well-rounded educational experience. Follow us and Abdulaziz on this journey to the Olympics on our social media channels @gust_official