The Hamad Bin Khalifa University’s (HBKU) Innovation Centre has marked the halfway point in the second cycle of its Education City Innovative Entrepreneurship Programme (ECIEP) with a graduation and awards ceremony.
Held at Education City’s Minaretein, the ceremony, according to a statement from HBKU, celebrated the conclusion of ECIEP’s Capacity Building Workshops. Organised in partnership with the Qatar Development Bank (QDB), participants from 15 teams undertook a range of capacity building activities designed specifically to strengthen their entrepreneurial skills. Every team also competed for a share of ECIEP’s Entrepreneurship Programme Funds, which are allocated to the five most promising business plans.
In the presence of HBKU’s deans, executive directors and senior QDB staff, the Innovation Centre certified all participants in the Capacity Building Workshops and awarded Entrepreneurship Programme Funds. Several HBKU faculty and research staff were honoured. They included Dr Rashad al-Gaashani from Qatar Environment and Energy Research Institute (QEERI), Dr Kabir H Biswas from the College of Health and Life Science (CHLS), Dr Tanvir Alam from the College of Science and Engineering (CSE) and Dr Jens Schneider from the College of Science and Engineering (CSE). Additionally, the Innovation Centre recognised Boshra Rasti Ghalati from the Qatar Academy for Science and Technology (QAST) at Qatar Foundation (QF).
Speaking after the conclusion of the ceremony, Nada al-Balam, Senior Entrepreneurship Specialist at Innovation Centre, congratulated all participants for completing the capacity building workshops. “The diversity of businesses and ideas presented throughout the programme reflect HBKU’s and Qatar Foundation’s rapidly evolving entrepreneurial culture and landscape. Selecting the recipients for the Entrepreneurship Programme Funds was by no means an easy task, with every entry making a competitive case for funding. We wish all participants well with their future business endeavours,” she said.
Launched in 2022, ECIEP supports innovative entrepreneurs within QF, the development of an entrepreneurship ecosystem and the realisation of innovative business ideas. The programme is designed as a long-term initiative in which participants are empowered to commercialise their businesses.
An initiative of the Office of Innovation and Industrial Relations (OIIR), HBKU’s Innovation Centre strengthens the innovation and entrepreneurship ecosystem within and outside the university. It serves as a platform for connecting people and sharing ideas, resources and expertise, providing opportunities for meaningfully unique collaborations.
