Inspiring the Next Generation of Local Entrepreneurs
At Qatar University (QU), Entrepreneurial Education is one of the university’s Excellence Themes. QU is keen on inspiring the next generations of Qatari entrepreneurs.Accordingly, to facilitate this university theme, in the Business for English Communication course, for the past three years, the course team has conducted an online panel discussion with local entrepreneurs to provide students with the opportunity to learn from the experiences of the panelists. This event is the first step in the course’s Entrepreneurship Project and reflects QU’s interest in promoting entrepreneurial thinking among students.
On October 17 and October 19, the course team organized another round of its panel discussions as the course students engage with what it means to be an entrepreneur and what it takes to develop a business idea into an actual business. The panel discussion is a collaboration with the Bedaya Center for Entrepreneurship. Ahmed Al Saygh, Senior Entrepreneurship Advisor at the Bedaya Center provides local entrepreneurs from their network for this event. The discussion also represents Dr. Hezam Yahya H A Al- Awah’s, the Director of the Foundation Program, and FPDE leadership’s ongoing support and guidance for the course’s events.
On October 17, the panelists for the male discussion included Abdulla Alkhanji, founder and CEO of Harmonic Consultations, and Hameed Alqahtani, founder Ceramic Cube Pottery Studio. Harmonic Consultations solves complex technological challenges with a powerful blend of technology and management expertise. Ceramic Cube creates bespoke pottery, offers training sessions in pottery making, and sells all the needed tools and materials to create clay works. The moderator for this panel discussion was Issam Affeneh, the co-lead for the course.
On October 19, the panel discussion for female discussion included Khadeja Albuhaliqa, who started her first business when she was 18 and is the founder of several businesses; Maryam Abdulla founder of Rebalance Lifestyle Development Consultancy; and Nada Bahzad, the founder of Masar, an online platform focusing on online services for youth empowerment through personal and career development. The moderator for this panel discussion was Maimuna Aghliw, a teaching assistant in the Foundation Program.
It is the goal of the Business for English Communication course to connect its content with the experience and advice shared by the entrepreneurs participating in the panel discussion. If students can relate what they are learning in class with the testimony from the panelists, then hopefully the students can see how entrepreneurship is possible for them. While course instructors want students to engage with course content and improve their English proficiency, the instructors also want students to start imagining their own entrepreneurial trajectory so that someday they can serve on a panel and speak to the next generation of potential entrepreneurs.
Source: Qatar University