The Qatar Business Incubation Center (QBIC), a division of the Qatar Development Bank (QDB), recently hosted a special edition of its Speaker Series with distinguished innovator and computer scientist Sebastian Thrun as part of Qatar Entrepreneurship Award and Conference (Rowad Qatar).
An annual QDB initiative, Rowad Qatar highlights the innovative contributions made by successful Qatari entrepreneurs and key industry players to encourage growth and co-operation across business sectors in the country. This year’s conference featured multiple QBIC-led workshops with the Speaker Series as the main highlight.
German educator Sebastian Thrun currently serves as chairman and co-Founder of Udacity, the CEO of the Kitty Hawk Corporation, and is adjunct Professor at Stanford and Georgia Tech Universities. 
His award-winning work on robotic vehicles and his contributions to probabilistic robotics earned Thrun the title of Fast Company’s ‘fifth most creative person in the business world in 2011’.
QBIC general manager Hamad al-Qahtani said, “We are deeply honoured to present this special speaker edition as part of Rowad Qatar 2019, a major national platform that brings together hundreds of local entrepreneurs to network, learn, grow, and jointly support Qatar’s economic advancement. 
“Sebastian is a creative leader in the field of robotics and artificial intelligence, whose forward-looking industry insights can add significant value to our growing community of entrepreneurs and inspire their own story of business ideation and development. Together, we are laying an important foundation for the future of a truly-diversified national economy, fuelled by home-grown initiatives and talents.”
QBIC’s seasonal Speaker Series sessions feature renowned professionals and entrepreneurs from around the world to offer valuable business insights and personal success stories to aspiring local entrepreneurs and promising startups. 
Since its inception in 2014, QBIC has worked to advance the Qatari entrepreneurial ecosystem through specialised programmes that place lean solution-building at the core of future market needs and enhanced self-sufficiency across all sectors.