At the Faculty of Engineering at the University of Balamand the entrepreneurial spirit is willing and eager. Biowayste is another startup that has grown in a university research project to exhibit great success on national and regional levels. This startup is actually the brainchild of Dr. Yasmine Jabali and graduate student (now alumna) Ms. Reine Metlej both from the Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering.

BIOwayste offers a green alternative to benefit from food waste and convert it into renewable resources. BIOwayste is an intelligent enclosed system in which the organic waste will breakdown, through bacterial decomposition, in the absence of oxygen, and produce biogas and biofertilizer. The generated biogas can be used to produce electricity and heat and can be used as a substitute for natural gas.

Additionally, the startup is currently taking place in the “Agorize Campus 2030 Challenge, an international competition aimed at making university campuses more compatible with the social, environmental and economic dimensions of Agenda 2030 under the theme “sustainable university”. The idea was submitted in October 2019, and after two selection stages the idea has been selected with five others from the 300 initial submissions. At the final stage on June 5th the idea will be presented to a jury comprising members of the UN, UNESCO and AUF.

Vice President for Internationalization and Engagement and Dean of the Faculty of Engineering Professor Rami Abboud congratulated the BIOwayste team on their success. “I truly believe the entrepreneurial spirit is nurtured in our classrooms and laboratories” he said. The motto adopted at the faculty facilities is “From Lab to Society” and this is clearly reflected in the idea and the success that BIOwayste has had. “I congratulate Dr. Jabaly and Ms. Medlej on their success and I look forward to getting news of their future success” he concluded.