Course: Entrepreneurship Adventure

The future is calling.
Are you listening?

You are the founder in this entrepreneurship master class that takes you from finding your “big idea” to bringing your concept to the world.

Starts: Jan 2022

Course: Entrepreneurship Adventure

The future is calling.
Are you listening?

You are the founder in this entrepreneurship master class that takes you from finding your “big idea” to bringing your concept to the world.

Starts: Jan 2022

About this course

Start your entrepreneurship journey

Entrepreneurship Adventures is an eight-week program that brings the founder experience to life. Open to aspiring founders and anyone interested in learning more about entrepreneurship, this gamified experience puts you in the driver’s seat as you navigate the real-world decisions entrepreneurs face as they bring their ideas to market.

Each week you’ll learn by doing, with case studies, videos, and other dynamic content designed to power your entrepreneurial evolution. To complete each level successfully, you’ll work through interactive challenges to help you apply your learnings and keep you moving forward.

At the end of the eight-week adventure, you’ll have successfully worked through the startup lifecycle and, in the process, gained the skills & knowledge you need to jumpstart your entrepreneurship career.

MORE ABOUT THIS COURSE

How Entrepreneurship Adventure works

  • Free 8-week entrepreneurship master class
  • Unique gamified learning experience teaches the pillars of entrepreneurship
  • Challenges taught by KAUST Entrepreneurship Center instructors and expert mentors
  • KAUST certificate of completion awarded
  • Course content available in Arabic

Duration

8 weeks

Level

All welcome; no prior experience needed

Cost

FREE

Format

Online course; unlock one level to get to the next

Language

Arabic

Certificate

Available upon completion

What you’ll learn on this journey

We recognize that no two people — and no two entrepreneurs — are the same. Entrepreneurship Adventure was designed to accelerate learning, discovery, and personal and professional growth, no matter your goals or learning style.

The 8-level program encourages learning through hands-on decision-making in a dynamic, real-world environment. Each week you’ll navigate life as a first-time founder, moving from big idea to product concept, and then going-to-market in search of success. Every move is your own — and every move is an opportunity to learn more about entrepreneurship by doing, not just reading or listening.

From finding inspiration to building and leading a team to bringing your business to consumers and investors, you’ll learn exactly what it takes to excel as a first-time founder, and how to apply those learnings right now to chart your own path to self-defined success.

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An Unconventional Syllabus: Unlock One Level to Enter the Next…

LEVEL 1

The Start of the Adventure: Skills for the New Century

From mindset shifts to understanding the tools, technologies, and innovations impacting the startup scene, level 1 is all about preparing you for what comes next, so you can build your team — and your business.

LEVEL 2

The Search for the Golden Opportunity

In level 2, you’ll define and refine your big idea, determining viability, assessing opportunities and deciding where you go from here.

LEVEL 3

Unconventional Discoveries: The Client & The Product

With your big idea taking shape, it’s time to better define your customer and product needs — that’s where empathy and design thinking (and level 3) comes in.

LEVEL 4

The Cliff of Sustainability

Entrepreneurship is more than a single big idea. In level 4, you’ll learn how to understand and strategize around your audience, your market, and your competition so your business can succeed, today and tomorrow.

LEVEL 5

A Fateful Scene: The Art of Recital

Telling your startup’s story is essential to securing funding and support. In level 5, you’ll work to perfect your message, get people to fall in love with your venture, and prepare to answer hard-hitting questions from potential investors and partners.

LEVEL 6

Entering the Jungle: Creating a Map of the Market

Before bringing your big idea to market, you’ll need to define your audience and get your first customer, then build out a scalable go-to-market strategy, and create a roll out plan — the core concepts we’ll cover in level 6.

LEVEL 7

Prospecting for Investment

Finding funding doesn’t have to be a struggle and talking to investors doesn’t have to be a mystery. In level 7, you’ll build out a practical toolkit that tells your startup story, and helps you find the capital needed to succeed.

LEVEL 8

The End of the Beginning: Start the Real Adventure

Now that you understand the ins and outs of entrepreneurship, it’s time to apply your skills to the real world. In this final level you’ll understand how to deploy all your learnings in ventures, corporates and non-profits as you determine what comes next for you and your entrepreneurial career.

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Navigating Entrepreneurship:

Case Studies

You’ll gain real-world insights and best practices from some of the most innovative startups and brands in the Arab region and around world including:

From idea to impact: Saee

Founders Ihab Nusair and Tariq Al Turkistani wanted to boost female employment in Saudi Arabia — but their big idea didn’t take. Instead of walking away, they used this experience to launch Saee which, in year one, raised more than USD $2.5 million in funding and created residual income opportunities for 15,000+ Saudi youth.

From corporate to startup: Cura

Wael Cabli quit two well-paying jobs to pursue his passion for creating products and services that drive meaningful impact. Ultimately, his marketplace know-how and laser-sharp focus led to the launch of Cura, a leading telehealth platform that’s rapidly expanding in the region — and has supported more than 2 million patient consultations.

From Tradition to Innovation: LEGO
LEGO, the global toy manufacturer, was struggling, until it adopted an innovation-first mindset. Now, the iconic brand has gone from being USD$400 million in debt to rapid growth and profitability, thanks to a new business model that’s redefined its manufacturing, distribution, and value chain infrastructure.

Dynamic case studies from industry-leading brands and startups

With case studies from real startups and global innovation leaders

Meet your Mentors

KAUST instructors and startup mentors will take you through your Entrepreneurial Adventure, with hands-on support, guidance, and insights that ensure you’re able to go from learning to leading in just 8 weeks.

The
EVANGELIST

Hattan Ahmed

Head of KAUST Entrepreneurship Center

The
NAVIGATOR

Haitham Alhumsi

KAUST Entrepreneurship Center Team

The
RAINMAKER

Abdulrahman Aljiffrey

KAUST Entrepreneurship Center Team

The
HUSTLER

Arwa Shafi

KAUST Entrepreneurship Center Team

The
EXPLORER

Dr. Lama Hakem

KAUST Entrepreneurship Center Team

The
CREATOR

Dawood Mohanna

KAUST Entrepreneurship Center Team

The
PLANNER

Mohamad Alwan

KAUST Entrepreneurship Center Team
Featuring Expert Guest Lecturers

You will also learn from our expert guest lecturers who will have invested-in and led successful startup companies in the region and benefit from their years of experience and their exposure to the entire startup ecosystem.

Amal Dokhan

Angel Investor

Nora Alkadi

Graphene Ventures

Ali Sheneamer

GetMuv

Maan Eshgi

Venturesouq Investment Group

Mohammed Aldossary

Sary

Waleed Alballaa

Sukna Ventures

Faris Alrashid

OQAL Angel Network

Lujain Alubaid

Tasamy

Why KAUST

For more than a decade, KAUST has been redefining education, with a focus on technology, innovation, and entrepreneurship. Beyond its cutting-edge research, KAUST is also home to Saudi Arabia’s leading accelerator and entrepreneur training programs.

To date, KAUST has trained more than 11,000 innovators from around the Kingdom. Over 250 of these have gone on to launch and scale their own brands and startups — including Sadeem, UnitX, and more. Learn about their journeys and connect virtually with a community of innovators through Entrepreneurship Adventures.

Our Partners

Earn your Certificate

Entrepreneurship Adventures is a free to access course that offers innovators free training, content and virtual activities.

Complete the adventure and you’ll have the insights and actionable knowledge to find and launch your big idea. Upon successful completion, you’ll have the option to purchase an edX Verified Certificate of completion acknowledging completion of the KAUST course and showcase your achievement.

Highlight Your Entrepreneurial Achievement

Receive a signed certificate from KAUST to verify your achievement and increase your job prospects.

Share it!

Add the certificate to your CV or resume, or post it directly on LinkedIn.

Transform your culture with innovation training

Interested in Entrepreneurship Adventures for your employees, students or community?

Enable your community to tackle the challenges of the future and become the next generation of innovators. Find out how to sign them up for the Entrepreneurship Adventures experience.

WHAT TO EXPECT FOR YOUR TEAM

A better way to drive sustainable growth at scale

Equipping existing talent with entrepreneurial skills can be a grounded approach in creating value for organizations of all sizes.

Improve resilience

The Longevity of successful organizations is driven by their diligence in being ahead of competition, led by people.

Drive a dynamic culture

Transform culture and embrace an entrepreneurial spirit within roles and teams to drive employee engagement.

Build talent pools

Empower your teams with innovation skill sets and give them the tools they need to tackle any challenges.

Drive creative thinking

Drive agile, adaptive and fast moving skills for the teams in your organizations by adopting a startup mindset.

Ready to dive in?
Get in touch to learn more.

Frequently Asked Questions

There’s no one clear-cut path to entrepreneurship — and, likewise, there’s no one “type” of entrepreneur. Because of this, Entrepreneurship Adventures is open to anyone who is interested in learning more about the dynamic entrepreneurial landscape, and what it takes to go from an initial concept to a thriving business.

Keep in mind, entrepreneurial skills have a broad range of applications. Even if you don’t plan to or don’t end up launching your own business, these modern skills and insights are an asset in any field or role. Entrepreneurship is about problem solving first — and that’s important to any organization in any industry.

So who’s “right” for Entrepreneurship Adventure?

  • Students who want to enhance their learning and career prospects with a unique approach to entrepreneurship.
  • Professionals from any industry or background who want to try — or, simply, experience — something new.
  • People considering a career in entrepreneurship, who want to enhance their know-how or learn the ropes from the ground up.
  • Anyone with a big idea — or anyone who wants to find their big idea — but doesn’t know how or where to start.
  • People looking for a change — a change of perspective, career change, or a new way to tackle old problems.
  • Anyone open to new ideas and a fresh way of thinking about the world and how you can make a difference, no matter how big or small.

Entrepreneurship Adventures is designed for people of all skill levels, educational backgrounds, and business experience. No prior coursework or professional experience is required.

Complete the adventure and you’ll have the insights and actionable knowledge to find and launch your big idea, with the resources and growth strategies to grow, scale, and accelerate your success — and you’ll earn a Certificate of Completion acknowledging your successful adventure. (Note: nominal fee applies.)

Entrepreneurship Adventures is an online-only program. Students can access content and challenges from anywhere in the world, and will not come to the KAUST campus at any point.

Entrepreneurship Adventures is a weekly, self-paced program. Students have one week to successfully complete the latest level in order to gain access to the following week’s adventure.

Most students devote 2-3 hours per week on their Entrepreneurial Adventures experience including the levels, challenges, and optional content including reviewing startup success stories, videos, activities, and more.

Entrepreneurial Adventures is FREE to all interested students. There is a nominal fee for those wishing to receive a Certificate of Completion at the close of their program.

No. Entrepreneurship Adventures is open to everyone — and part of the program involves defining and refining your business idea. Many students join with and without having an existing “big idea” — and many change their concepts or develop new startup ideas during the program.

No. Entrepreneurship isn’t limited to those with specific technology or business backgrounds, and neither is Entrepreneurship Adventures. We encourage people from all backgrounds and all experience levels — even beginners — to enroll.

You do not need any prior entrepreneurship experience to enroll. In today’s landscape, anyone can be an entrepreneur, and we encourage people with all backgrounds and levels of knowledge — even beginners — to enroll and explore their entrepreneurial interests.

The entrepreneurship landscape is changing and evolving constantly, and founders need to keep pace. Entrepreneurship Adventures gives established founders an opportunity to work through real-world scenarios while honing your skills and in a learning environment. This program will also help you learn more about areas of entrepreneurship where you may not be as familiar, or may need additional support — team-building, for example, fundraising, marketing, design thinking, and other niche areas.

While Entrepreneurship Adventures is not a fund-granting program, during the challenges you’ll learn how to best position your startup for funding, plus how to engage and activate the right investors. For those looking to continue their entrepreneurship journeys after completing this program, KAUST offers a variety of startup support and accelerators. To learn more and apply visit https://innovation.kaust.edu.sa/entrepreneurs/.

Consider the skills you gain in Entrepreneurship Adventures to be your personal roadmap to success — and a solid foundation for founders interested in applying to startup accelerators. During this 8-week program you’ll learn about product roadmapping, business modeling, pitching, marketing strategy, fund-raising and more, so you can better pitch your big idea to accelerators and have a solid foundation to maximize these opportunities.

Even if you don’t pursue an entrepreneurial career, Entrepreneurship Adventures will help you gain the skill and insights you need to compete in the global market. From leadership and design thinking to market research, strategy, and campaign optimization, the skill set and mindset learned in Entrepreneurship Adventure is applicable to any career in any industry.

No. Entrepreneurship Adventures is not a “class,” it’s an experience — and it’s designed to help you overcome the challenges first-time founders face head-on.

Just like entrepreneurs have to work through different experiences, in Entrepreneurship Adventure you’ll complete each level in the journey, gaining greater insight and understanding along the way. Complete one level — at your pace — to unlock the next.

Once your session begins, you’ll have eight weeks to complete all 8 levels. So, while there’s no homework, you are expected to plan your time appropriately and ensure each challenge and level is complete.

No. You can access Entrepreneurship Adventures from your computer/laptop, mobile device, or tablet.

The future is calling.
Are you listening?

Register now and start charting your path to entrepreneurship success.