Based on its academic mission to support development and implementation of market-fit ventures on a scientific foundation, the American University in the Emirates (AUE) has created an innovative entrepreneurship program for its students and graduates.
A collection of entrepreneurs, business industry professionals, and trained trainers participate in the project to provide plans, concepts, and the standards needed for the development of startups, businesses, and investments.
The AUE Startup Incubator Program aims to remove the expected roadblocks in the way of those who want to start a business but lack the necessary experience. It also assists them in planning and presenting their projects in a systematic manner. Even individuals who lack experience and the essential solutions for any future hurdles can benefit from the program, as it encourages them to develop important and clear action plans so that they can begin their entrepreneurial path.
Professor Muthanna Ghani Abdul Razzaq, president of the AUE, describes the AUE Startup Incubator as “an intensive program designed to help the university’s students and graduates willing to establish their own startups in a way that helps youth in the UAE work as part of the future-oriented knowledge-based economy.”
“This is achieved through expanding their understanding of entrepreneurship in various economic sectors,” Professor Abdul Razzaq explained.
He also said that “The goal of the program is to provide the participating teams with relevant skills and knowledge that would help them overcome the challenges that the entrepreneurs may face while establishing their startups”.
A market-validated prototype must also be presented in front of an expert jury, he noted.
The AUE Startup Incubator program allows university students, graduates, and postgraduates to participate, especially because it focuses on the tools, principles, and skills needed to develop and improve the efficiency of startups, ensuring that they are up-to-date and ready for future intensified coaching and mentorship.
The program’s next phase is to incubate the most innovative teams for a period of up to 10 weeks. Through online workshops, coaching sessions, mentorship, and successful entrepreneurship speeches, participants are intended to gain the skills and knowledge necessary to assist them overcome any potential hurdles in their entrepreneurial journey.
The AUE thinks that instilling an entrepreneurial and innovation culture is in accordance with the UAE’s long-term goal, which sees such incubators as a way to diversify and broaden development horizons by fostering generations of innovators.
As a result, such incubators resemble virtual labs that help develop ambitious ideas into successful enterprises.
The AUE Startup Incubator program’s major objectives are to provide participants with knowledge and skills in the field of innovation leadership, as well as to define new applications of modern technology that can improve workflow. The key objectives also include assisting participants in identifying future market prospects and strategies to gain access to a broad market, as well as learning transferrable soft skills for genuine entrepreneurship in order to meet current and future obstacles.
