In co-operation with the Office of Strategic Innovation, Entrepreneurship & Economic Development (SIEED) at Qatar University (QU), the College of Pharmacy organised its first Entrepreneurship Day, which targets college students aiming to consolidate their spirit of leadership and innovation in a way that qualifies them to face future challenges and contribute to achieving Qatar National Vision 2030.
The resource persons were Dr Lotfi Belkhair, SIEED's associate director for entrepreneurial transformation; Gordon McConnell, international expert in entrepreneurial transformation and commercialisation of innovations in higher education; and Dr Walid Kronfleh, a pharmacy and biomedicine entrepreneur with experiences in both the US and Qatar.
Dr Feras Alali, dean of College of Pharmacy, said: “By harnessing the principles of entrepreneurship, we can amplify our impact, drive innovation, and create sustainable solutions to address the evolving challenges of our society.”
Dr Mahmoud Abdulwahed, director of SIEED and secretary of the Board of Directors of QU’s Holding Company (QU Holding) stated: “Events like these are effective methods of nurturing entrepreneurial spirit among the College of Pharmacy community. It is also one of the first steps towards encouraging students to initiate pharmaceutical startups, which would be a unique addition to the national innovation and knowledge economy ecosystem, as such kind of deep technology startups are scarce in Qatar as well as in the GCC region.”
Participating students contributed effectively to enriching the dialogue and engaging in a constructive and promising discussion with the session directors. The programme resulted in a pilot project proposal submitted by the student Fatima Nazar to the University’s Strategic Innovation Office.
Fatima Nazar said: “Entrepreneurship empowers pharmacists to be catalysts of change, to create impactful solutions and to shape the future of healthcare. The information and support provided during the session was beneficial for us to understand what resources are available at QU SIEED Office as well as the College of Pharmacy, that can help us in our entrepreneurship journey.”
