Hayfa A Al Abdullah, (second right), Director, Innovation; Alar Kolk, (second left) President, EIA; Yosouf Saleh (third right), Executive Director, Arab Innovation; and Harald Lepisk (right) with students on the Opening of QSTP second edition of Arab Inn
Doha: The Arab Innovation Academy (AIA), the largest entrepreneurship boot-camp of its kind in the region launched its second edition yesterday.
The initiative by Qatar Science & Technology Park (QSTP), a member of Qatar Foundation Research, Development and Innovation (QF RDI) and the European Innovation Academy (EIA) has brought together more than 160 future “techpreneurs” from Qatar, MENA region, India and Russia.
Within 10 days AIA will introduce participants to an accelerated mode of experiential learning under the guidance of leading Silicon Valley mentors. It will include how to develop and launch new tech ventures in a real marketplace with genuine customer feedback.
“We aim to develop an innovative mindset among our talented youth to nurture an unprecedented and competitive environment in the MENA region. More importantly, we believe that investment in our region’s talent pool is the key to achieving long-term economic sustainability and prosperity,” said Yosouf Abdulrahman Saleh, Executive Director, QSTP speaking at the opening ceremony held at Multaqa within the Education City.
This year, AIA has selected more than 160 participants from over 900 applicants. They will gain learning experience from 25 speakers and 37 mentors and investors. More than 80 students participating in AIA are from Qatar and others are from countries, including Morocco, Tunisia, Algeria, Sudan, Palestine, Lebanon, Turkey, Oman and Yemen. The first edition of AIA accepted more than 100 participants from 11 countries.
“We have seen a lot of interest from the region. I think regionally startups now symbolize sort of new hopes, because technology is so accessible and people realize that they can build their own dreams,” Alar Kolk, President, EIA told The Peninsula.
Participants will be introduced to advanced methods and tools related to the entrepreneurship journey, from team formation and ideation to pitching venture capitalists and angel investors, tactics that are accredited by leading global universities, and endorsed by QSTP, Google, and Amadeus.
“Within ten days participants will learn through experiments to understand how can we actually focus on a big problem which have not been solved by companies and governments yet. Participants coming with initial ideas will learn to see things differently and how to build on their ideas,” said Kolk. The first day of the AIA saw alumni from the previous edition share their valuable experiences with the 2019 cohort in a moderated panel discussion. Alumni also presented their initiatives on virtual farming and a new approach to sell tickets for football matches without faults.
