Dubai, United Arab Emirates, 18 November 2025: Earlier today, Her Highness Sheikha Latifa bint Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Chairperson of Dubai Culture and Arts Authority (Dubai Culture), officially opened this year’s Dubai Future Solutions – Prototypes for Humanity exhibition. The four-day event brings together 100 outstanding student-led projects, addressing humanity’s most urgent social and environmental challenges. During her visit, Her Highness also met with the initiative’s supporting partners to discuss the importance of university-led scientific innovations in driving solutions with real-world impact.  

The 100 projects on display at the Dubai Future Solutions – Prototypes for Humanity exhibition have been shortlisted from thousands of submissions by students, recent graduates and professors enrolled at more than 1200 universities across 120 countries. The exhibition runs until Thursday 20 November at AREA 2071, Emirates Towers, alongside the 4th edition of the Dubai Future Forum.

The Dubai Future Solutions – Prototypes for Humanity initiative, is held under the directives of H.H. Sheikh Hamdan bin Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Crown Prince of Dubai, Deputy Prime Minister, Minister of Defence, and Chairman of the Board of Trustees of the Dubai Future Foundation, and is under the patronage and leadership of Her Highness Sheikha Latifa bint Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum. A joint effort between Prototypes for Humanity, an Art Dubai Group initiative, in partnership with Dubai Future Foundation (DFF), the Hussain Sajwani – DAMAC Foundation, and Dubai International Financial Centre (DIFC), the programme supports university innovators from around the world to advance their science-backed solutions towards real-world application and growth.

Her Highness Sheikha Latifa bint Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum said, “This week we are celebrating innovation and future-led thinking from students around the world. This initiative shows year-on-year how the next generation is committed to making a difference and finding practical solutions to social issues and environmental concerns the planet is facing today. Dubai Future Solutions – Prototypes for Humanity is born in Dubai, and we are proud to be a catalyst of change, bringing together the international community in our commitment to innovation in the service of humanity.”

His Excellency Khalfan Belhoul, CEO of Dubai Future Foundation (DFF) said, “Our ambition is to make Dubai one of the world’s foremost future cities, and the creative innovations that we see as part of Dubai Future Solutions – Prototypes for Humanity, encapsulate this visionary thinking. In a short period of time, Dubai has successfully established itself as a leading global hub for innovation and technology, a testing ground for creative thinkers and home to some of the world’s most impactful entrepreneurs and forward-thinking organisations.” 

His Excellency Arif Amiri, Chief Executive Officer of the DIFC Authority and Chairman of the Board of Art Dubai, added, “This week is truly an inspiration, and DIFC is proud to lead a programme that has global impact. As a founding partner of Dubai Future Solutions – Prototypes for Humanity, we remain committed to driving the future of technology and sustainability, and providing ongoing support to the innovators whose projects will make a significant difference to societies across the world.”

Clear trends for this year’s submissions highlighted a strong focus on tackling major global health issues, environmental concerns and climate resilience. Many students developed hyperspecialised, real-world solutions, tailoring their academic expertise to provide bespoke, detailed responses to global issues. A significant proportion of projects prioritised affordability and accessibility, ensuring that innovation benefits a wider audience. The integration of powerful enabling technologies, such as AI across traditional sectors further underscored the evolving innovation landscape, where core technologies can be applied to tangible problems.

Tadeu Baldani Caravieri, Director of Prototypes for Humanity said, “Our criteria for entry are demanding, and we receive thousands of applications each year with real solutions to real problems affecting society and the environment today. Innovations such as these need to be mobilised out of the universities and into commercial development so humanity can truly benefit. Dubai Future Solutions – Prototypes for Humanity provides a crucial connection between ideas born in academia and commercially produced innovations.” 

Throughout the exhibition and through ongoing engagement with the programme, young innovators gain access to local and international government, industry professionals, investors and funding opportunities from a range of sectors including healthcare, energy, agriculture, smart infrastructure and applied AI. These connections are a crucial step in enabling the students to progress their ideas onto the next stage of commercial development and ultimately drive impactful change for real-world problems.

Five outstanding entrants selected from the 100 shortlisted entries will be awarded a shared prize pool of USD 100,000 to further advance their research in critical areas. 


For more information on Dubai Future Solutions – Prototypes for Humanity, please visit: Prototypesforhumanity.com @prototypesforhumanity