During the 4th Medforum, Mrs. Yasmin MUHAMMED winner of the CIHEAM Best Thesis Prize and Mr. Ezzudeen EISAWI winner of the CIHEAM Youth Innovation Award received from the hands of the Secretary-General and the Directors of CIHEAM Chania and CIHEAM Zaragoza, their diploma and their engraved medal in addition to the funding granted to support their projects.

05 December 2022, CIHEAM Chania

Ms. Yasmin MUHAMMED (student of CIHEAM Bari) was rewarded for her work on the design and development of a Novel Organic Yogurt based on Medicinal and Aromatic Plants. The topic of her thesis was considered original by the CIHEAM Advisory Board, as the approach combines design thinking and technology development and integrates the stakeholders of the whole chain value from the farmer to the consumer.

They considered that the developed approach was innovative and could be applied in a wide range of contexts and for different types of products in the Mediterranean region. The results appear therefore very relevant and of great applicability in Mediterranean agricultural production systems.

Mr. Ezzudeen EISAWI (student of CIHEAM Bari) was rewarded for his professional project "INSPOT Innovation" thanks to its innovative and disruptive nature. His project aims to improve waste management through the introduction of insect recycling technology and contribute to improving food security and sovereignty in Egypt.

The CIHEAM Youth Innovation Award jury made up of representatives of the CIHEAM Advisory Board, partners from international organizations (CMI-UNOPS), the private sector (BusinessMed), start-ups and incubators, and civil society (Generation Earth), estimated that his professional project was in line with the CAPMED objectives and the SDGs and that it holds great potential for replicability of its methodology across the Mediterranean basin.