QF spotlights value of education and entrepreneurship at Doha Forum 2019

Perspectives on education and entrepreneurship have been shared with an international audience by representatives from Qatar Foundation at the Doha Forum 2019.

The 19th edition of the global platform for dialogue – held under the theme Reimagining Governance in a Multipolar World - has brought together leaders in policy from around the world to discuss critical challenges facing international society, and identify action-driven solutions to them.

Around 3,000 decision-makers, policy experts, and thought-leaders are attending the forum at the Sheraton Hotel in Doha, with the event featuring over 250 speakers. The global flavor of the event has seen organizers host a series of Viewpoint Interviews, filmed at the venue to be broadcast throughout the year on the forum’s website, and featuring key figures whose views on a range of pivotal global topics can contribute to international conversations.

Among the interviewees was Dr. Ahmad M. Hasnah, President of Hamad Bin Khalifa University (HBKU), a Qatar Foundation member. Speaking about the importance of academic research and shaping a curriculum that inspires entrepreneurship, he said: “We have to design our curricula to bring about objective thinking by students, and that means encouraging them to think outside of their own cultures.

“We need to work on providing hope. Having an education means you are better prepared for the challenges of life.”

Dr. Hasnah also spoke about how establishing a research-focused university can contribute to building an entrepreneurial nation, saying: “Qatar took the strategic choice to invest in human capital, and this is how the nation can compete internationally.

“We want to provide a different model of education. At HBKU, we do not want our faculty to simply give lectures; we want to bring research into the classroom. Ideas are nothing if they don’t have a purpose, and entrepreneurship should be coupled with research.”

Also interviewed on the Viewpoint stage was Dr. Danny Ramadan, Investment Director at Qatar Science & Technology Park We have to design our curricula, part of Qatar Foundation Research, Development and Innovation, who spoke about how Qatar can create a true entrepreneurial spirit and his belief that the FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022™ will give local and regional entrepreneurs added incentive and the opportunity to launch their products onto the global stage.

“What Qatar does is play to its strengths,” he said. “If you have a young startup company, the World Cup is a fantastic opportunity to promote your product.

“In Qatar, we are targeting global solutions to global problems. When we are looking to employ venture capital tools in Qatar, we are speaking the same language spoken in Silicon Valley. Our greatest strength is young people with great ideas, and we are here to turn their concepts into successes.”