I was invited by the project manager of UNDP’s Innovation for Development project to deliver a one-hour seminar on Creativity and Creative Thinking. I was honored and very glad to have the opportunity. There was a total of 62 smart and engaging participants from many cities around the country. I really enjoyed the experience and
AUIS hosted a workshop for a group of participants from the Nishtiman Youth Network and AUIS students on Design Thinking and Entrepreneurial Process. The workshop was offered by Five One Labs and it took place on the afternoon of Monday, July 24, 2017 on the AUIS campus. I was happy and thankful to be given the
We need to educate the young graduates of Iraq and Iraqi Kurdistan and lead them into a new ecosystem; an ecosystem where they can survive and thrive and where they can serve the future of the society’s economic stability and growth, an ecosystem of business startups and entrepreneurship. I share my opinion addressing three societal misconceptions
Technical Mentor in First Social Innovation Hackathon in Erbil. The first Social Innovation Hackathon took place in Erbil during July 21 and 22, 2017. The event was organized by Re:coded and supported by the UN migration agency (IOM). I was honored to participated as a technical mentor and had the pleasure to interact with the
How Can Teaching Creativity Support Entrepreneurship? In this talk, Hemin shares his story and advice on how people can handle their frustration to come up with solutions that build on their strengths starting from their own jobs. He tells how his frustration with the lack of creativity among the entrepreneurs led him to develop and
Pitch Bootcamp was the first of its kind in Iraq and Iraqi Kurdistan arranged by Bite.Tech, an online news platform that covers the tech echosystem in Iraq and Iraqi Kurdistan. The event took place over two days on July 7th and 8th, 2017 in the main offices of MSelect in Erbil, the capital city of
On June 19, 2017 IRIS (The Institute for Regional and International Studies) at AUIS arranged for a very fruitful roundtable discussion on entrepreneurship, titled, “Barriers & Opportunities for Entrepreneurship in Iraq and the Kurdistan Region”. The event is part of a larger initiative to promote entrepreneurship and startups in Iraq and the KRI. This initiative includes: The production of a report
Startup Weekend Sulaimani #1 was the first ever Startup Weekend event to take place in Iraq and Iraqi Kurdistan. It was arranged by a group of AUIS students and it took place at the AUIS campus. Following the success of the first event, Startup Weekend Sulaimani #3 was arranged in the same format. I was
What do young founders in my country need to know before getting started with a startup? I share my opinion in this article that was published by Bite.Tech on June 13, 2017. Bite.Tech is “an independent newsletter covering the digital economy and startup ecosystem across Iraq and Kurdistan”. The full article can be accessed here.
I have initiated Thursday THANK YOUs, which is a campaign to promote appreciation and gratitude among coworkers. Interestingly, as it is always the case with social entrepreneurship, it has moved beyond THANK YOUs only to coworkers, and definitely beyond Thursdays. The campaign has a Facebook Group and can be followed here.