Qatar University (QU) and Qatar Shell celebrated the completion of the first cohort of Shell Intilaaqah – Qatar, a national initiative designed to cultivate an entrepreneurial mindset among youth and enable them to enter the world of entrepreneurship with solid academic and experiential foundations.
Shell Intilaaqah – Qatar is part of Shell LiveWIRE, Shell’s global flagship programme for enterprise development, offering participants access to international networks and professional mentoring opportunities.
The initiative represents a strategic step toward bridging the gap between academic learning and professional demands through an eight-week intensive journey that combined hands-on training, mentorship, and engagement with leading experts and coaches.
“Through the Shell Intilaaqah – Qatar programme, we have empowered our students with the skills, mindset, and real-world experience needed to succeed in careers and life and drive positive change in any context,” said QU College of Business and Economics dean Dr Rana Sobh.
During the closing ceremony, Qatar Shell general manager (Corporate Relations) Hussain al-Hijji said: "When we launched Shell Intilaaqah Qatar, we wanted to do more than teach students about entrepreneurship. We wanted to give them a space to grow, dream, test their ideas, and, most importantly, believe in themselves.”
Qatar Shell is the main sponsor and strategic partner of the programme.
The programme saw 188 QU students from diverse academic disciplines applying to join, with 100 accepted.
Over eight weeks, they were divided into three cohorts and took part in an intensive learning experience that included self-discovery, personal development, entrepreneurial and innovative thinking, business design, presentation skills, and one-on-one mentorship.
All sessions were designed to help participants transform their ideas into concrete, feasible ventures with clarity and confidence.
Participants improved their entrepreneurial competencies in 15 different areas.
After completing the programme, students reported a 30% increase in their ability to identify high-impact opportunities and a 17% increase in their confidence to start their own entrepreneurial ventures.
The evaluations also showed significant development in key skills such as opportunity recognition, creative thinking, and collaborative leadership.
Dr Khalid al-Hashimi, the director of the QU’s Centre for Entrepreneurship, said: "This programme provided a unique learning experience that combined academic instruction with exposure to real entrepreneurial challenges in a fruitful collaboration between the university and the private sector.”
"From the next academic year, the programme will expand to offer two tracks in Arabic and English, allowing broader student participation and supporting national efforts toward a sustainable knowledge-based economy,” he said.
The closing ceremony at the QU featured student presentations that reflected their personal transformation during the programme.
The second cohort of Shell Intilaaqah – Qatar is scheduled to begin in August this year.
