May 11th, 2015: Students from Canadian University Dubai (CUD) have been honing their enterprise skills at a recent innovation boot camp organized by INJAZ UAE, a member of Junior Achievement Worldwide, in partnership with Tejar Dubai, an initiative of Dubai Chamber.
The I-Camp initiative was a daylong workshop, where students were challenged to use their creativity and teamwork to come up with innovative solutions to real business problems, and to develop a business plan that they could present in an elevator pitch to a panel of expert judges.
The program aimed to support young people aged 15 -24 years to evaluate entrepreneurship as a career option and to develop critical skills in business start-up disciplines such as planning, marketing, finance and management through the 'learning by doing principle'. With access to information, resources, and with the help and guidance of mentors from the private sector, the students benefitted from an intensive learning experience that will help to prepare them for life in the corporate world.
For second year Bachelor of Architecture student, Craig Muyambo, the experience proved to be a valuable lesson in teamwork. He said, "I found that a simple understanding of the human mind can allow you to make people calmer, more confident, and actually open up to you in a first meeting when you're trying to build a relationship.
"Working within a group, I also learnt that there's no such thing as a 'bad' idea. You can always use some part of a person's idea or reasoning process to build on better ideas. If you figure out why the person chose that approach, you may figure out a better way of reaching the desired goal."
Craig, who is currently part of a team of students working on the development of an industry-based Architecture magazine, also witnessed how the process redefined participants' notion of success. He revealed, "At the outset of the competition, I believe most people's motivation was the prize, so what I found really interesting is that after all the presentations, everyone thought they had won!"
"Personally, I loved how I got to work on a project with three people I had never worked with at that level before, and we made something happen in just one hour. Now we are actually working together outside the INJAZ workshop. So even though we didn't get a prize, we still came out winners", he concluded.
For Journalism student Nada Maatar, the experience was an important insight into leadership. She said, "Learning about the characteristics of a leader, gaining knowledge and working hard as a team to succeed has inspired and motivated us to become the leaders of tomorrow."
According to CUD Assistant Professor Jeanette Teh, who supported the students' participation in the program, this kind of initiative is a great opportunity for them to develop their softer skills and to help them become work-ready.
She said, "Virtually every article I have read or conference I've attended about the preparedness of millennials for the workplace lament the lack of transferable soft skills such as communication, analytical, teamwork, leadership, and critical thinking skills in our youth.
"There is currently a skills gap in graduates around the world and it is precisely training programs such as these camps provided by INJAZ that will help bridge the divide between education and the corporate world."
Sulaf Saleh Al Zu'bi, CEO of INJAZ UAE, said she was particularly impressed by the contribution and insights from the delegates attending from CUD. She commented, "The CUD students demonstrated high levels of self-motivation, intelligence and creativity when solving business problems and developing business ideas as viable entrepreneurial ventures."
Of the I-Camp initiative, Sulaf concluded, "The entrepreneurial training workshop helps to champion and encourage youth to explore entrepreneurship and raise awareness on the importance of business education. With many corporate and academic partners, INJAZ UAE is able to offer the right stepping stones, by providing them with entrepreneurial education and mentorship opportunities with industry experts. We must thank our devoted mentors for their gift of time, passion and dedication to the empowerment of tomorrow's future entrepreneurs."
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