Release date, Dubai, UAE: A team of students from Canadian University Dubai (CUD) has
created an innovative solution that aims to ease parking trouble for motorists across the
city. Developed by second-year students, Ramisha Ahmareen Zaman and Fatma Ahmad
Alattar, the Rent-a-Parking platform was awarded the first prize of AED 5,000 at the
Entrepreneurship Showcase, staged as part of the recent Brand Me Summit. Held at the
university’s City Walk campus, the ground-breaking CUD student-led event showcased the
power of personal branding, featuring a line-up of distinguished speakers, entrepreneurs
and public figures.
Inspired by their own daily challenges with parking around the city, Ramisha and Fatma set
out to explore how they could redeploy unused spaces to increase capacity in high-demand
locations. Fatma explained, “Dubai has one of the highest number of cars per capita in the
world. One option would be to build more spaces, but we wanted to explore a more
sustainable solution to the problem, where residents with unused parking spaces could
offer them for rent.”
Describing how the system would work, Ramisha said, “We have built a dynamic online
marketplace where people can list their available parking spaces in residential buildings. It
enables renters to monetize their unused parking space while providing a convenient
solution for drivers. The platform is available citywide, and spaces can be rented for varying durations, whether hours, days, or months, based on the user’s specific needs.”
Ramisha and Fatma were one of three teams of entrepreneurship students presenting their
business idea to a panel of high-profile creators and innovators during the Brand Me
Summit at CUD. Runners-up in the competition were Abdulla Mahmood Sanad, Anushka
Naomi, Danielle Anne P. Avendano and Sukhroop Kaur with their innovation, Raybot+. The
team showcased their prototype for a solution that assists maintenance teams in parks and
public spaces, while also streamlining waste segregation. The other project on display was a smart infant feeding and nutrition tracker developed by the team Visionary Ventures.
The panel of judges included Ahmed Ben Chaibah, Founder & CEO of Aqua Fun; Dr.
Mohammed Naji, Executive Director of Liberty Medical Group; Omar Al Ashi, Founder & CEO of Urent; Firas Al Msaddi, Founder and CEO of Fam Properties; Jigar Sagar, CEO of Creative Zone; and Mohamed Hilal, Founder & CEO of Mohamed Hilal Group, who also sponsored the competition prize.
The Entrepreneurship Showcase was moderated by CUD’s Vice President of Academic
Affairs, Dr. Dima Jamali, who remarked, “This event provided an outstanding opportunity
for these enterprising students to gain valuable insights from successful innovators in the
UAE business community. We are grateful to the panel for their encouragement and for
inspiring our students to continue pursuing their ideas to take the next steps towards
creating their own start-up.”
After almost a year of work on market analysis and prototype development, Ramisha and
Fatma are now looking to the next stage of their project. Fatma concluded, “We would like
to explore investment opportunities and also develop the regulatory framework for the
platform, which we hope to do in collaboration with relevant authorities like the RTA. The
scarcity of parking spaces is a growing problem, particularly in urban areas, and we hope
that our innovation can contribute to a sustainable solution to this challenge.”
About Canadian University Dubai:
Canadian University Dubai (CUD), established in 2006, is a higher academic institution
located in City Walk, Dubai, United Arab Emirates (UAE). The university is the #1 ranking
University in Dubai according to the QS World University Rankings 2024. CUD is a diverse
and dynamic institution, with over 120 student nationalities. The university provides
academic programs at both the undergraduate and graduate levels with a reputation for
academic excellence. With 18 accredited degree programs and over 30 concentrations,
Canadian University Dubai offers a diverse range of programs across four academic
faculties, ensuring a comprehensive learning experience. The curriculum is Canadian-
inspired and serves as a gateway for students to pursue higher education, research,
entrepreneurship and employment opportunities in Canada.
