03 April 2013
The special edition TECHTalks workshop by Qatar Science & Technology Park (QSTP), held for the first time in association with Technology Innovation & Entrepreneurship Programme (TIEP), took place at Qatar National
Convention Centre.
The event was led by Dr Alexander Osterwalder, co-author of the bestseller, Business Model Generation, and an expert in innovative business model solutions.
The theme of the workshop was "Creating innovative business models to rejuvenate your business and capture value". TIEP is a programme designed by QSTP for entrepreneurs to analyse the market viability of local technology-based ideas.
The event drew aspiring entrepreneurs, researchers, and businesspeople eager for an opportunity to learn out-of-the-box approaches that move away from static business plans and focus instead on the dynamic art of designing and testing business models.
In an increasingly competitive business environment, an innovative business model is a critical success factor for companies as it enables them to provide maximum value to customers while improving bottomlines. Companies that are not able to systematically rejuvenate their business models will eventually struggle to survive.
Over the one-and-a-half day workshop, attendees were introduced to Dr Osterwalder's groundbreaking tools and ideas, experiencing first-hand how to reinvent existing business models and create new ones for their new products and services.
Dr Osterwalder addressed the importance of business model innovation and design thinking, and its reach beyond technology and product innovation.
Attendees also had the privilege to learn from the expert about the renowned methodology for visualising and challenging business models. Known as "the business model canvas", it is a graphical representation of nine core business model building blocks, and is today an approach adopted universally by many business model innovation practitioners to help create, deliver and capture value.
"QSTP is committed to training future leaders in innovation and entrepreneurship to drive Qatar's economic diversification through the development of technology-based businesses. The special TECHTalks edition was designed to impart expert knowledge on how to invent, design and implement cutting-edge business models that would transform innovative business ideas into reality. We were pleased with the turnout from Qatar's research and business communities, who would no doubt have benefited tremendously from this workshop," said Hamad al-Kuwari, managing director, QSTP.
The special edition TECHTalks workshop was held in conjunction with the commencement of TIEP's business modelling and finance module, where budding entrepreneurs who are enrolled in the programme are trained to create viable business models for the innovation projects they are working on. TIEP's main objective is to harness entrepreneurial capabilities and vet innovation proposals to support the commercialisation decisions of various technologies being developed at QSTP partner institutes.
Following TECHTalks, the TIEP programme continued with its business model workshop in closed sessions at QSTP, with Dr Osterwalder working intensively with the entrepreneurship students to create viable business models for the innovation projects they are working on. The hands-on methodology of TIEP continued for a further two days as finance and IP strategists coached the students on linking their business models to financials. The teams will spend the next several weeks iterating, testing and refining their business models and finally presenting before a panel of experienced entrepreneurs. The class graduates on May 2.
The next TIEP programme starts in November this year and applications will open soon.
The special edition TECHTalks workshop by Qatar Science & Technology Park (QSTP), held for the first time in association with Technology Innovation & Entrepreneurship Programme (TIEP), took place at Qatar National
Convention Centre.
The event was led by Dr Alexander Osterwalder, co-author of the bestseller, Business Model Generation, and an expert in innovative business model solutions.
The theme of the workshop was "Creating innovative business models to rejuvenate your business and capture value". TIEP is a programme designed by QSTP for entrepreneurs to analyse the market viability of local technology-based ideas.
The event drew aspiring entrepreneurs, researchers, and businesspeople eager for an opportunity to learn out-of-the-box approaches that move away from static business plans and focus instead on the dynamic art of designing and testing business models.
In an increasingly competitive business environment, an innovative business model is a critical success factor for companies as it enables them to provide maximum value to customers while improving bottomlines. Companies that are not able to systematically rejuvenate their business models will eventually struggle to survive.
Over the one-and-a-half day workshop, attendees were introduced to Dr Osterwalder's groundbreaking tools and ideas, experiencing first-hand how to reinvent existing business models and create new ones for their new products and services.
Dr Osterwalder addressed the importance of business model innovation and design thinking, and its reach beyond technology and product innovation.
Attendees also had the privilege to learn from the expert about the renowned methodology for visualising and challenging business models. Known as "the business model canvas", it is a graphical representation of nine core business model building blocks, and is today an approach adopted universally by many business model innovation practitioners to help create, deliver and capture value.
"QSTP is committed to training future leaders in innovation and entrepreneurship to drive Qatar's economic diversification through the development of technology-based businesses. The special TECHTalks edition was designed to impart expert knowledge on how to invent, design and implement cutting-edge business models that would transform innovative business ideas into reality. We were pleased with the turnout from Qatar's research and business communities, who would no doubt have benefited tremendously from this workshop," said Hamad al-Kuwari, managing director, QSTP.
The special edition TECHTalks workshop was held in conjunction with the commencement of TIEP's business modelling and finance module, where budding entrepreneurs who are enrolled in the programme are trained to create viable business models for the innovation projects they are working on. TIEP's main objective is to harness entrepreneurial capabilities and vet innovation proposals to support the commercialisation decisions of various technologies being developed at QSTP partner institutes.
Following TECHTalks, the TIEP programme continued with its business model workshop in closed sessions at QSTP, with Dr Osterwalder working intensively with the entrepreneurship students to create viable business models for the innovation projects they are working on. The hands-on methodology of TIEP continued for a further two days as finance and IP strategists coached the students on linking their business models to financials. The teams will spend the next several weeks iterating, testing and refining their business models and finally presenting before a panel of experienced entrepreneurs. The class graduates on May 2.
The next TIEP programme starts in November this year and applications will open soon.
© Gulf Times 2013
