JEDDAH — As part of its to graduate accomplished women, leaders, and entrepreneurs, Dar Al-Hekma University ensures that its students participate in several courses and extra-curricular activities. Recently, 36 Dar Al-Hekma students participated and received 3 credits in a 70-hour, 10-day entrepreneurship workshop and competed for cash prizes at a final pitch competition. Winning teams included Harmonize, a virtual reality interior design app, Fit Kids, a summer camp for youth with health and weight challenges, and iSave, a medical information storage technology.
The course was organize by StrateSphere LLC, a Columbus Ohio-based company specializing in creating private-public partnerships specializing in the education sector, and implemented a Venture Highway entrepreneurship education class for the university students.
The class was held from Jan. 28 to Feb. 7 on the Dar Al-Hekma University campus.
“I advise all educational institutions for women to combine their efforts through the cooperation with private institutions to find a stimulating environment for women entrepreneurship and to develop systems and procedures that encourage their participation and ensure their sustainability,” said the President of Dar Al-Hekma University, Dr. Suhair Hassan Al Qurashi.
“StrateSphere is committed to carrying out our mission to inspire and educate young entrepreneurs in collaboration with local partners around the world and are pleased to have been able to offer our cutting-edge blended learning entrepreneurship workshop in partnership with Dar Al-Hekma University,” stated Tariq Farwana, StrateSphere’s founder and managing partner.
“Dar Al-Hekma University is ahead of the game in offering best-in-class courses for its students and we look forward to continue our partnership by offering more Venture Highway entrepreneurship workshops on campus in the very near future,” Farwana said.
The workshop content tied nicely to the Saudi Arabia’s Vision 2030, the country’s recently announced strategic plan to revamp its economy by, among other things, boosting women participation in the workforce and increase SME share of the national GDP.
Hanan AlGamdi, StrateSphere’s senior consultant located in Jeddah, noted the quality and talent of the Dar Al-Hekma University students. “These young ladies showed us quickly how talented and driven they are. This workshop was, for many of the participants, their first exposure to business and entrepreneurship training, yet they came up with many brilliant ideas that can become viable, successful businesses in the near future. There’s no doubt that these women will take on leadership roles in Saudi Arabia and we can’t wait to see what they will achieve”.
Dar Al-Hekma University thrives to pave the road to success by developing entrepreneurial skills through entrepreneurship courses. During the course, Dar Al-Hekma University along with Venture Highways celebrated the winners of the competition.
