HBKU completes workshops on innovative entrepreneurship | So Good News

Hamad Bin Khalifa University (HBKU) recently concluded its innovative entrepreneurship program capacity building workshops with a certification ceremony attended by guests from the Qatar Foundation (QF). The workshops were the capacity-building component of the 18-month Education City (EC) Innovative Entrepreneurship Program, which selected 15 candidates in the first round.
Innovators participating in the program include QF, College of Science and Engineering (CSE) and Qatar Environment and Energy Research Institute (QEERI), professors, scientists, students and senior administrators from HBKU and QF partner universities, Georgetown. Qatar University (GUQ), Texas A&M Qatar (TAMUQ) and Weill Cornell Medicine – Qatar (WCM-Q).
Intensive training workshops aimed at helping them advance their entrepreneurial ideas and projects were conducted by academics from the EC community, including HBKU’s College of Law and College of Islamic Studies, HEC Paris Qatar, Qatar Science and Technology Park (QSTP) and Qatar. Business Incubation Center (QBIC). They provided theoretical knowledge and practical tools covering innovative entrepreneurship, systemic innovation, leadership, project writing, ideation, business model and business plan preparation, as well as intellectual property (IP) protection.
Commenting after the certification ceremony, HBKU Innovation Director Dr. Nadir Yıldırım said, “It was very rewarding to work with the candidates during these workshops and see that they clearly understand how to drive innovation forward. This has been the vision of Education City’s innovative entrepreneurship program from the start; giving aspiring entrepreneurs unparalleled access to knowledge, resources and networks to unlock their innovative potential. The program took these innovators out of labs and classrooms to understand the benefits of an ecosystem built to systematically drive innovation.”
Dr. Nadir added, “The work of the Innovation Center is a tangible result of HBKU’s institutional commitment to incubate innovative research and business models with strong potential for growth. This is part of a deliberate focus on strengthening the innovation ecosystem both within and beyond HBKU.”
On behalf of the MentorMe project team members, Maha Al Marri said: “We are proud to be a part of this program and to complete workshops that have had a significant impact on our startup project. We are trying to implement our project and help students transitioning from high school to university.”
Along with capacity building training, entrepreneurs are preparing their projects to apply for HBKU’s newly launched Entrepreneurship Program Fund (EPF). Participants will have the opportunity to present their ideas at a Demo Day in mid-2023.
The EPF aims to support QF entrepreneurs at scale with industry innovation and increase local capacity, responsiveness and entrepreneurship.