Doha: Aspiring student innovators have a final chance to apply to the latest edition of the Arab Innovation Academy (AIA), submissions for which close on August 14.
This year, AIA has also partnered with Qatar Foundation’s Hamad Bin Khalifa University (HBKU) to jointly deliver a course titled ‘Innovation Entrepreneurship Leadership II’ (CSE 786) – a credited course at HBKU.
The 2021 edition will be virtual and opens on August 31, with weekly sessions running until November 23. To find out more and apply, please visit this link.
The AIA programme offers university students an accelerated mode of learning where they are taught to turn an idea into a startup in only 12 weeks. The programme enables aspiring techpreneurs in Qatar, and the region, to develop their ideas into viable business models.
This is done by exposing participants to experiences from a real marketplace with customer feedback to help hone their entrepreneurial skills. It also gives them access to an extensive global network of mentors and speakers in tech entrepreneurship and innovation.
At the end of the course, participating teams pitch their business to a panel of investors, and stand a chance to win an award for their new venture.
“Don’t think of the programme as competition, but more as a school or training placement, because that’s what it is,” says Sara Ait Hak, Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of the five-member team Go Star! who placed third in the 2020 programme. The team of Go Star! was made up of students from Qatar, Morocco, Kuwait and Jordan, who created a unique startup project that gamifies domestic chores for children.
“The biggest impact that the programme had was through its role in aiding the transition of an idea or problem into an actual startup. Thinking about it, I would not have imagined a business model nor a marketing campaign for our idea – certainly not before the AIA. The feedback was tremendously helpful, especially coming from people who have extensive experience of working with new startups. It gives you an insight into what is going on at a broader level,” she explains.
Abed Al Rahman Naser, a member of Hamza, which is a website extension that provides real-time support on Arabic grammar to Arabic-speaking students – and another successful runner-up in the 2020 programme – shares: “The course enabled us to become familiar with basic business concepts from several fields including marketing, software and design. Being taught about such fields by experts from Silicon Valley in the United States and by other professionals from around the world was a massive benefit.”
The AIA is run by Qatar Science & Technology Park (QSTP), a member of Qatar Foundation Research, Development & Innovation (QF RDI), in partnership with European Innovation Academy (EIA), and through QF RDI’s strategy to address local priorities, the programme – like many others at QSTP – serves to develop local and regional innovation opportunities.
