HEC Paris in Qatar spearheads setting up of 'Entrepreneurship & Innovation' platform

HEC Paris in Qatar, a QF partner university, is leading the establishment an Observatory of Entrepreneurship & Innovation - a pro-active platform to gather and disseminate knowledge, research findings from different institutions interested in the determinants of entrepreneurship and innovation in Qatar.The initiative was launched during a dedicated workshop, which drew an enthusiastic audience from 17 primary stakeholders including multi-national technology companies, Qatar government departments and subsidiaries, Qatar University, leading local entrepreneurs, and major private sector players.The observatory will facilitate collaboration, encourage discussion, and share insights of Qatar's entrepreneurial ecosystem to develop new models and frameworks for it, and to impact economic development towards the Qatar National Vision 2030."We have received a very strong early day response to this initiative which is clearly aligned to our redefined values and primary purpose of enabling everyone to make an impact on business and society," said Dr Allan Villegas-Mateos of HEC Paris in Qatar. "We are looking to build a community network of entrepreneurship scholars, practitioners, and institutions who, and which, can come together to jointly support the professional development of their associates and members. The observatory will then encourage impactful research on and about entrepreneurship and innovation in Qatar and the wider Gulf region and promote inter-network exchange and activities that contribute to the consolidation of a strong entrepreneurial culture, based on hands-on experience of the different institutions represented."The observatory will focus on three key positioning areas: being seen as a research meeting space, a think-tank and an innovation catalyst.This will see it co-ordinate research efforts by organising workshops, annual meetings, special calls for publishing as well as training and developing opportunities for members to explore new research avenues. As a think-tank, it will communicate findings and facilitate collaboration with investors, industry, education institutions and other stakeholders while inspiring policymakers.As an innovation catalyst the observatory will be Qatar's key collaborative, enterprise resource centre which enhances entrepreneurship through education, training, research and institutional building capacities.The observatory will be guided by an advisory board comprising representatives of the founding institutions who will analyse results, plan annual objectives and select an observatory co-ordinator.The founding partners include banks, universities, research centres, government agencies, investors, incubators, and accelerators."We strongly believe that supporting and nurturing an entrepreneurial ecosystem within Qatar is very important because it is the fuel for tomorrow's growth and this event is an amazing opportunity to set an action plan that will help stakeholders reach their goals of supporting the ecosystem," elaborated Dr Allan Villegas-Mateos."Entrepreneurship serves as an important vehicle for economic and social prosperity by improving productivity and economic competitiveness and for this reason co-operation between participants is essential to acquire and diffuse knowledge in the creation of knowledge-based economies," he added.