• Inaugural event featured interactive booths, panel discussions and fireside chats offering valuable insights and career opportunities to students.

Sharjah: Over 27 startups by the Sharjah Entrepreneurship Center (Sheraa) offered more than 100 job positions, including full-time, part-time, freelance, and internship opportunities, catering to a broad range of students during “Startup Career Fair 2023” which was organized by Sheraa and the American University of Sharjah (AUS) in partnership with Crescent Enterprises.

The Fair brought together over 500 enthusiastic students seeking internships and job opportunities and was held at Sheraa Hub at AUS, featured interactive booths and fireside chats alongside leading innovators and entrepreneurs in the UAE and beyond.

Attendees had the opportunity to network and build connections with 27 Sheraa-supported startups, which advertised 100+ key positions in sales & business development, product strategy, product development, marketing, IT and software, graphic design, finance, engineering, data management, customer relationship management, filming, editing, and content creation.

Founders of startups such as OptimizeApp, Zidyia, Made for You Global, Cycled Technologies, Yspot, exhale, AR Engineering, HoloFair, Kyma, Foloosi Technologies Ltd, Savii, jalebi.io, Lune Technologies, EYouth, FortyGuard, Esaal solutions, and Ludus Films shared their experiences and insights at the fair, offering valuable advice to students looking to enter the startup world. With a focus on providing students with firsthand insights into working at a startup, they discussed topics such as the challenges and benefits of working at a startup, company culture, career growth, and more.

Najla Al-Midfa, CEO of Sheraa, said: "Nurturing the next generation of entrepreneurs is at the heart of what we do at Sheraa. The Startup Career Fair served as a platform for startups and students to connect on a personal level and discover opportunities for collaboration and growth. The fair's success is a testament to the thriving startup ecosystem in Sharjah and the region, and we look forward to continuing to support and encourage students as they consider careers in our homegrown companies or venture off on their own."

Rania Morsi, AUS Interim Executive Director of Advancement and Alumni Affairs, said: "We are proud to have partnered with Sheraa and Crescent Enterprises to organize the first-ever Startup Career Fair at AUS. This outstanding event brought together students and startups in a dynamic and interactive environment, fostering connections and facilitating networking. We are committed to providing our students with valuable opportunities that enable them to pursue their aspirations and realize their potential. We also strive to create a platform where startups can tap into a pool of exceptional talent."

At the interactive booths, students had the opportunity to engage directly with participating startups to explore potential internship or full-time positions. Startups such as OptimizeApp, which enables SMEs to organize social media campaigns through a single app, and Zidyia, the world's first modern subscription-based learning management system built natively on the cloud, showcased their offerings and connected with talented students.

The fair's success was a testament to the strong startup ecosystem in Sharjah, as Sheraa and AUS facilitated connections between students and startups. The event provided students with a platform to discover their passions and interests and paved the way for a bright future in innovative companies.

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