The University of Business and Technology (UBT) in Jeddah honored 16 of their female Masters in Business Administration (MBA) students recently for setting up a successful online business website.

Nadia Bayshan, the dean of the UTB business college, praised the students for their work at the campus on Thursday. The students set up the e-commerce “Red Sea Auction” website, demonstrated it to fellow students and ran it successfully for two weeks, she said.

Ali A. Somaie, faculty member of the management information system at the university and supervisor of the project, said he was proud of the participants.

“They proved that Saudi students can make a difference anywhere in any field, we are really proud of them. The students turned a class project into an online business. The idea was to show how businesspeople can transform traditional enterprises into electronic businesses.”

“The main aim behind today’s ceremony was to highlight the efforts of the students and to showcase our vision of how to use electronic technology for trade purposes in the Gulf and the Middle East.”

Bayshan said the project was a huge achievement. “The students transformed their knowledge learnt in the classroom into a real-life business where a number of people participated. It showed that our students can make a difference in any field. It will have a positive impact on other students and society.” Nasreen Mosbeh, a leading student, said the business took place over two weeks, from Dec. 1 to 12, and had customers bidding for items online. “Electronic Commerce will be the enabling technology for the next industrial revolution, and online auctions are among the most influential e-business applications,” she said.

“Although it was only our class project, we decided to take it to the next level and share it with society. We’re planning to expand our project in the city to gain recognition,” she said. The students who participated in the project were Abir Bushnaq, Alaa Bajnaid, Ghaydaa Salih, Heba Murshed, Maha Saifuddin, Nasreen Mosbeh, Nawal Mousaawi, Rabab Shawosh, Raja Barashed, Rasha Almalik, Rouaa Banonah, Samahir Koshak, Sarah Alghamdi, Shada Bogary, Shaima Basahal, Abir Abusulayman and Yasmeen Fageha.