Internet Society Lebanon Chapter has organized The Gaby Deek Internet Innovation Award 2025 edition, a national inter-university competition held on June 25, 2025, in honor of the late Gaby Deek, a dedicated member of ISOC Lebanon Chapter and its late president, at the premises of the AUST campus in Achrafieh. The event took place in the presence of Gaby Deek’s family and friends, ISOC Lebanon Chapter President Me. Charbel Chbeir, Vice President Ms. Zakie Karam, Secretary Mr. Jacques Bakaev, Prof. Marc Ibrahim and Dr. Elie Nasr, Chairperson of the Computer Science and Information and Communications Technology Departments at AUST.

ISOC board members highlighted the importance of holding this event yearly and continuing the legacy of Gaby Deek for the role he played in advocating for the right of access to the internet, and infrastructure development in Lebanon.

The jury comprised ISOC Lebanon Chapter members Me. Charbel Chbeir, Ms. Zakie Karam, Dr. Elie Nasr, and Prof. Marc Ibrahim.

The competition opened the door to final-year project students to showcase their projects aligned with ISOC’s global 2024-2025 action plan.

From the pool of candidates, three teams have won ranked as follows:

  • 1st prize (USD 1,200): LIDAR from the AUST
    Presented by Joe Farah
    This project presents a low-cost Arduino integrated 2D LIDAR system using a time-of-flight laser ranging sensor from STMicroelectronics with a 360 degrees field of vision.
    The jury evaluation: “The LIDAR project conforms to the Internet Society (ISOC) competition by enabling smart, connected robotic systems that rely on real-time spatial awareness—critical for autonomous navigation over the Internet. The system’s 2D mapping capabilities can be integrated into Internet-connected platforms, allowing remote monitoring, data sharing, and decision-making over networks.”

  • 2nd prize (USD 800): AI Powered Router from AUST
    Presented by Ralph Achkar, Adam Moumneh, Jawad Al Sahily
    The purpose of this project is to design and implement an AI-powered router capable of detecting and mitigating network threats in real time.

  • 3rd prize (USD 500): LoRa Sky Relay from ESIB
    Presented by: Matthieu Kreidi, Joey Maalouf, James Bouzerdane, Sophia Jarjoura, and Carl Bedran.
    This project presents a novel, low-cost, and energy-efficient LoRa relay system deployed via a balloon-lifted aerial platform to enhance long-range bidirectional communication between ground-based LoRa nodes.

 The Gaby Deek Internet Innovation aims to harness the knowledge and know-how of community members from all regions and backgrounds to advance the mission of a safe, secure, trustworthy, and open Internet across Lebanon.

GD25-IMG-3435
GD25-IMG-3436
GD25-IMG-3437
GD25-IMG-3438
GD25-IMG-3439
GD25-IMG-3440

TESTIMONIALS

“A national stage for internet innovation, built in memory of Gaby Deek, and aligned with ISOC’s 2024–2025 priorities.”
Dr. Elie NasrChairperson & Professor at AUST
“The LiDAR prize money was reinvested to upgrade the 2D design into a full 3D scanning platform. I acquired high-precision sensors and new equipment to test performance under diverse conditions. Additionally, I funded experimental setups to tackle the detection of transparent and low-reflectivity obstacles. These investments transformed the prototype into a more advanced, research-ready system.”
Joe FarahLiDAR project:
“We’re really grateful to the Internet Society for the funding and support. It helped us upgrade our hardware, mainly the Raspberry Pi that we were using as the router, along with the Wi-Fi adapter and antennas. This made the system more stable and easier to test in real conditions. The project still has a lot of room to grow, but the funding helped us push it to a better stage.”
Adam Moumneh, Ralph Achkar, Jawad SahiliAI-Powered Router project
“We’re really grateful to the Internet Society for the funding and support. It helped us upgrade our hardware, mainly the Raspberry Pi that we were using as the router, along with the Wi-Fi adapter and antennas. This made the system more stable and easier to test in real conditions. The project still has a lot of room to grow, but the funding helped us push it to a better stage.”
Adam Moumneh, Ralph Achkar, Jawad SahiliAI-Powered Router project
“This award turns student innovation into deployable internet solutions for Lebanon, while honoring Gaby Deek’s legacy of access and infrastructure development.”
Charbel Chbeir Esq.President of ISOC Lebanon Chapter: