The World Innovation Summit for Education (WISE), a global initiative of Qatar Foundation for Education, Science and Community Development, has invited educational projects for the WISE Accelerator Programme 2016-17.
Applications must be submitted in English through www.wise-qatar.org/wise-accelerator by September 8.
All education projects that use or link technology to their projects can apply for the programme. The projects will be selected in November and announced in December.
The WISE Accelerator is a programme designed to support the development of innovative projects in the field of education. It relies on the expertise of qualified mentors and partners to provide projects with effective strategies and concrete support in order to ensure their development.
Each year, five projects are selected to join the programme. These are followed for one year, during which they benefit from tailor-made mentorship to address their specific needs. In addition, the WISE Accelerator serves as an intermediary to connect the selected projects to an international network that creates opportunities to share knowledge and find support from donors and investors.
Ideal candidates for the programme are existing projects at an early stage of development. They could be projects established for at least two years with a significant and growing number of beneficiaries or customers with a record of activities of a product or service that has been successfully implemented and beyond proof of concept.
The other attributes of the projects could be existing, stable revenues, and new opportunities for growth; a dedicated team, with an established physical space or office; deep knowledge of the market or educational context and of their beneficiaries’ or customers’ needs; clear future objectives and motivation to develop further and good understanding of the project’s current challenges in scaling.
The WISE Accelerator Committee, composed of leading experts in education and social entrepreneurship, will conduct the selection process.
Applications will be assessed on the criteria of solution and innovation, strategy and management as well as development beyond proof of concept and potential for growth.
The year-long programme aims to assess and suit project needs as precisely as possible to take them to the next stage in their successful development. The programme offers a kick-off week of activities, needs assessment, tailor-made mentorship, the opportunity to participate in international events, ongoing communication and international visibility, pitching with partners, investors and donors as well as progress assessment.
Edutechnoz from Canada, one of the projects selected for the WISE Accelerator Programme 2015-16.
