Qatar Boot Camp for
Innovation, Technology, & Entrepreneurship
In this Page:
Program Dates:
June 2 – June 15, 2019
This program will provide a thorough exposure to both the concept and practice of entrepreneurship. The curriculum is shaped and delivered by world-class professors from UC Berkeley’s Haas School of Business and successful entrepreneurs in Silicon Valley. The course combines classroom sessions with lectures and interactive activities as well as out of class exercises and assignments to provide you with the skills, culture, and networks you need to establish, operate, sustain, and scale new businesses. Upon completion of the course, participants will receive Berkeley-Haas certificates.
Participants will be introduced to the fundamentals of technology entrepreneurship, gaining familiarity with the processes that will allow them to go from ideas to implementation. The course will cover best practices on recruiting and retaining talent, forming teams, pitching ideas, raising capital, prototyping solutions, testing markets, selling and marketing products and services, and launching scalable enterprises capable of creating value in both economic and social terms. Participants will also learn how to define problems and determine which ones to solve, becoming familiar with formulating solutions that are “usefully different” from and superior to what exists on the market.
Throughout, theoretical and conceptual approaches will be supplanted by case studies and visits to Silicon Valley, where students will be exposed to practical examples of both budding and thriving startups, renowned technology companies, venture capitalists, angel investors, as well as incubators and accelerators. The course will be enriched by insights from entrepreneurs and VC’s, who will discuss their successes and failures, analyzing the lessons they have derived from each.
Participants who successfully complete the bootcamp will receive Berkeley-Haas certificates.
Boot Camp Details
- “The Program is a very good program for entrepreneurs … Visiting different sites helped us network much more effectively.”
- “The program was really excellent. I didn’t expect what would happen. Everything was amazing.”
- “The program was very informative. The concepts are really clear and show you how to transform a small company into an enterprise.”
- “I think it was very useful and efficient. I really learned a lot and I hope to use this newly acquired knowledge and skills in practice.”
- “I learned quite a lot. I think the program was very well organized.”
Advantages
Contextualization: Boot Camp contents and activities, including lectures, projects and visits are organized to augment their relevance to Qatar as well as the industries and companies in Qatar, from which the participants are drawn. The contextualization approach is designed to maximize the benefits that accrue to participants.
Project-Based Learning Approach: The boot camp is composed not just of a series of lectures, but the formulation and completion of a real-world hands-on project. Upon arrival, participants are placed into teams which, operating under the supervision of a coach, works on projects that will be presented to a panel of judges at the end of the boot camp.
Certification: Upon completion of the boot camp, participants will receive a certificate issued by the UC Berkeley-Haas School of Business.
Boot Camp Activities
Lectures by professors and pioneers to hands-on projects, and visits to relevant Silicon Valley companies. All Boot camp components, including lectures, projects and visits will address local needs and requirements.
Lectures: Lectures will be delivered by world-class UC Berkeley faculty members and practitioners from Silicon Valley. Emphasis and content will be adjusted to fit the backgrounds and requirements of the participating group.
Projects: Participants will be split into teams of 4 or 5 to work on hands-on realworld entrepreneurial opportunities and challenges derived from their contexts. The course is designed to make the experiences of participants as meaningful as possible by enabling them to hone their entrepreneurial skills in real-life settings. Participants will be required to think through and apply what they learn in class in teams. Each team will be paired with and mentored by a coach. Teams will present their projects on demo day to a panel of judges, who will evaluate their solutions and provide them with feedback.
Visits to Silicon Valley: The foremost global innovation hub. Visits to various Silicon Valley entities will be organized to maximize the visit’s relevance and utility to the participating group’s interests and concerns.
Fireside Chat with Pioneers: This boot camp will also be enriched by insights from academics and innovative leaders, who will discuss their successes and failures, analyzing the lessons they have derived from each.
Features
- Participants will be introduced to the fundamentals of technology entrepreneurship, gaining familiarity with the processes that will allow them to go from ideas to implementation. This boot camp will cover best practices on recruiting and retaining talent, forming teams, pitching ideas, raising capital, prototyping solutions, testing markets, selling and marketing products and services, and launching scalable enterprises capable of creating value in both economic and social terms.
- Participants will also learn how to define problems and determine which ones to solve, becoming familiar with formulating solutions that are “usefully different” from and superior to what exists on the market.
- Throughout, theoretical and conceptual approaches will be supplanted by case studies and visits to Silicon Valley, where students will be exposed to practical examples of both budding and thriving startups, renowned technology companies, venture capitalists, angel investors, as well as incubators and accelerators.
- The bootcamp will be enriched by insights from entrepreneurs and VC’s, who will discuss their successes and failures, analyzing the lessons they have derived from each.
Objectives & Outcomes
- A Keen aptitude to grasp innovation opportunities
- Tools and frameworks to plan and implement new ideas
- Leadership and management skills for creating a culture of innovation
- Cutting edge theory combined with practical application strategies
- Unrivaled training from industry experts
- Networking opportunities with peers and Silicon Valley business leaders
- Expertise in change management
Program
Day 1
- Arrival – Registration
- 5:00 pm Opening
- Dinner, Networking
Day 2
-
- 9:00 am Session 1: Orientation
- 10:30 am Break
- 11:00 am Session 2: Entrepreneurship in a Box: From Silicon Valley to Qatar
- 12:30 pm Lunch, Networking
- 2:00 pm Session 3: Entrepreneurship in a Box: From Silicon Valley to Qatar
- 3:30 pm Break
- 4:00 pm Project Workshop – Team Up
- 6:00 pm Dinner, Networking
Day 3
- 9:00 am Session 4: Design Thinking
- 10:30 am Break
- 11:00 am Session 5: Design Thinking
- 12:30 pm Lunch, Networking
- 2:00 pm Session 6: Design Thinking
- 3:30 pm Break
- 4:00 pm Project Workshop
Day 4
- 9:00 am Session 7: Design Thinking
- 10:30 am Break
- 11:00 am Session 8: Design Thinking
- 12:30 pm Lunch, Networking
- 2:00 pm Session 9: Design Thinking
- 3:30 pm Break
- 4:00 pm Project Workshop
Day 5
Silicon Valley Visit 1
Day 6
-
- 9:00 am Session 10: Entrepreneurship in a Box: From Silicon Valley to Qatar
- 10:30 am Break
- 11:00 am Session 11: Entrepreneurship in a Box
- 12:30 pm Lunch, Networking
- 2:00 pm Session 12: Entrepreneurship in a Box: From Silicon Valley to Qatar
- 3:30 pm Break
- 4:00 pm Fireside Chat with Entrepreneurs: From Silicon Valley to Qatar
Day 7
Free Time
Day 8
Free Time
Day 9
-
- 9:00 am Session 13: Legal Issues for Startups: A Comparative Analysis of Between the US and Qatar
- 10:30 am Break
- 11:00 am Session 14: Legal Issues for Startups: A Comparative Analysis of Between the US and Qatar
- 12:30 pm Lunch, Networking
- 2:00 pm Session 15: Legal Issues for Startups: A Comparative Analysis of Between the US and Qatar
- 3:30 pm Break
- 4:00 pm Project Workshop
Day 10
-
- 9:00 am Session 16: Financial Issues for Startups: A Comparative Analysis of Between the US and Qatar
- 10:30 am Break
- 11:00 am Session 17: Financial Issues for Startups: A Comparative Analysis of Between the US and Qatar
- 12:30 pm Lunch, Networking
- 2:00 pm Session 18: Financial Issues for Startups: A Comparative Analysis of Between the US and Qatar
- 3:30 pm Break
- 4:00 pm Fireside Chat with Entrepreneurs: Success in Silicon Valley and Lessons for Qatar
Day 11
Silicon Valley Visit 2
Day 12
- 9:00 am Project Workshop
- 10:30 am Break
- 11:00 am Project Workshop
- 12:30 pm Lunch, Networking
- 2:00 pm Project Workshop
- 5:00 pm Reception, Networking
Day 13
- 9:00 am Demo 1
- 10:30 am Break
- 11:00 am Demo2
- 12:30 pm Lunch, Networking
- 2:00 pm Closing
Day 14
Departure
Enrollment
Shortly after submitting your pre-registration application, you will receive a welcome package from the AMENA Center and UC Berkeley team. The welcome package, sent via email, will include introductions from the Boot Camp Director (your primary point of contact for your Berkeley experience), billing contact information, and more details regarding your Boot Camp.
After paying your full tuition, you will immediately receive the final confirmation documents including: proof of registration, proof of payment, proof of accomodation and official invitation letter from UC Berkeley’s Haas School of Business to be submitted to the US Embassy or Consulate in your country.
In case you need to obtain a US visa to attend, please refer to the details provided in your Program Guide document. It is recommended that you make an appointment with your local US Embassy or Consulate as soon as you have submitted your pre-registration.
Billing and Payments
Your enrollment in a Boot Camp is not confirmed until payment in full has been received. If you need to make other payment arrangements, such as payment by check, purchase order or via electronic funds transfer (ACH), payment is due upon receipt of that invoice. If you have any questions, about that, please contact us at: amenaced-haas@berkeley.edu
Payments can be made via credit card (Visa, MasterCard, American Express). If you elect to be billed for the program, payment details will be provided on your invoice.
In case of cancellation, full refund will be issued until 15 days prior to the first day of the selected Boot Camp. To cancel participation in a Boot Camp and receive a full refund, the applicant must submit a written request to amenaced-haas@berkeley.edu no later than 15 days before the the Boot Camp start date.
Registration
Costs including including tuition, housing, breakfast and lunch. Airfare is not included.:
$14,000
Attendance, Cancellation, & Late Arrival
Please keep AMENA Center informed of cancellations and delays. Arriving late and/or leaving early can be extremely disruptive. It is your responsibility to make the necessary arrangement to be present for the entire duration of the course.
Your presence and participation in the seminars is essential for receiving a certificate from the Berkeley Haas School of Business.
Should you have questions, please contact us at:
amenaced@haas.berkeley.edu
Housing & Transportation
Lectures and class sessions will be held at University of California, Berkeley – Haas school of Business.
Transportation from/to site visits will be provided.
Housing
Participants will be hosted at UC Berkeley housing, where breakfast and lunch will be served.
Visa Information
VISA Support
Some participants are eligible for the “VWP” (Visa Waiver Program). The VWP enables citizens of certain countries to travel to the United States for tourism or business for 90 days or less without obtaining visa if they have registered online through the Electronic System for Travel Authorization (ESTA). The first step is to see if your home country is one of the thirty that fall under this category. Participants can find this information on the US consulate’s website of their home country. If a student’s home country or country of citizenship is a member of the VWP, then the participants from that country will need to follow the procedures for the visa waiver.
Non-American / Non-VWP Citizens
If the participant’s home country is not a part of the VWP, the student would have to apply for the B1 business visa. Do not apply for a student visa because the application will be denied. The term “business” includes conventions, participation in seminars, conferences, consultations, and other activities of a commercial or professional nature. Students may need to specify the nature of the boot camp. The official description of your presence in Berkeley, California is as follows: attending a full-time Executive Training seminar. Participants are required to check with their local consulates for the most up-to-date procedures for obtaining a visa.
Documents for Visa Application
As for the documents needed for this visa, participants will receive an official invitation letter from the UC Berkeley-Haas School of Business once registration has been approved and endorsed by the AMENA Center. US visa policies may vary from country to country. The US is sometimes very strict when making decisions about issuing visas, and is not obliged to justify visa refusals. In such cases, AMENA center will provide you with options to reschedule your boot camp or to receive a refund per registration policy. Nevertheless, a common reason for visa refusal is that the applicants fail to demonstrate sufficient ties to their home countries. Below, is a list of documents we recommend prospective participants take to their visa appointments:
- Boot Camp Program Guide
- UC Berkeley – Haas School of Business Acceptance Letter
- Certificate of Tuition Payment
- Copies of return plane ticket
- Proof of residence in home country
- Bank account information
- Job details or University registration