The Enterprise Challenge Qatar 2014 competition, which has been launched in universities and is slated to begin in schools, features more than 700 student participants from across Qatar.
Now in its third year, the annual challenge is designed to encourage and inspire the entrepreneurial spirit among young people in Qatar. This year, it involves 12 independent schools and nine universities from Doha and the Northern Communities, according to a statement issued yesterday.
Over the coming weeks, more than 100 volunteer mentors - the vast majority of whom are Qatari - will deliver coaching sessions for the student participants on ethical business and train them on how to navigate a computer-based business simulation ahead of the competition.
The volunteer mentors, who have received coaching-skills training from professionals at Bedaya Centre for Entrepreneurship and Career Development (Bedaya Centre) and Qatar Shell, will mentor the students and support the competing teams until the semi-finals in October.
The grand final events will be held for the universities on November 15 and for schools on December 15, where the finalist teams will compete head-to-head for the Enterprise Challenge Qatar trophy.
Abdulaziz al-Khalifa, chairman of Bedaya Centre and CEO of Qatar Development Bank, said: “We are proud of the success of Enterprise Challenge Qatar and are delighted to be part of this initiative for the third consecutive year.”
Since its inauguration in 2012, Enterprise Challenge Qatar has garnered a strong following, the statement adds. Last year’s competition ran in nine universities in Doha and six schools in the Northern Communities in Qatar, with 430 student participants in the business challenge that culminated during Global Entrepreneurship Week 2013.
Wael Sawan, managing director and CEO of Qatar Shell, said: “I am extremely proud to see a significant growth in the number of students and mentors participating in the Enterprise Challenge Qatar programme this year.”
The entrepreneurship programme has different tiers for high school and university students and is made up of two parts, comprising the Ethical Business Challenge - which tests participants’ ability to balance the economic, environmental and social performance of their company, and the Business Simulation element - which familiarises students with general business concepts from inception to trading, finance, sales, marketing and production.
The independent schools participating in this year’s competition from Doha include Al Bayyan Girls’ School, Qatar Complex Girls’ School, Al Rayyan Al Jadeed Girls’ School, Ad Doha Boys’ School, Umar bin Abdul-Aziz Boys’ School and Ahmad bin Hanbal Boys’ School. The independent schools taking part from the Northern Communities of Doha include Al Khor Girls’ School, Al Shamal Girls’ School, Al Guwairiya Girls’ School, Al Shamal Boys’ School, Abdullah bin A al-Misned Boys’ School and Az-Zubarah Boys’ School.
The nine universities participating this year are Qatar University, Texas A&M University at Qatar, Community College of Qatar, Stenden University Qatar, Carnegie Mellon University in Qatar, Northwestern University in Qatar, College of the North Atlantic - Qatar, Georgetown University School of Foreign Service in Qatar and Virginia Commonwealth University in Qatar.
