Are you a young entrepreneur from one of the Gulf countries? Interested in connecting with entrepreneurs from the UK? Do you want to learn more about how you can work successfully across cultures and grow your business?
The Dubai-London Gulf Enterprise Week offers new ways for young entrepreneurs from the Gulf to connect with the UK. This May, successful applicants will get the chance to travel to Dubai and attend the British Council’s Intercultural Fluency Training course, after which they will depart to London to engage with the vibrant community of entrepreneurs and benefit from master classes and advice from business leaders. Participants will also have the opportunity to work on one challenge specific to their own business with input from experts and from other entrepreneurs. Sessions will be led by experts and entrepreneurs and visits will include UK incubators, accelerators and universities.
The aim of the programme is for the participants to return to their countries with new solutions and skills, new ideas for ways to grow or strengthen their businesses, and an expanded network of peers and potential contacts for future collaboration.
The programme will run in Dubai and London between 28 May and 4 June 2016. No alternative dates will be offered, so we urge interested entrepreneurs to apply as soon as possible. This Dubai-London entrepreneurs visit is open to all Gulf nationals under the age of 35. Please note the programme will be delivered in English.
Economy class flights, UK visa, hotel accommodation and meals will be arranged by the British Council.
We are opening the visit to 10 participants who will be notified by April 29 at the latest. We regret that we are unable to notify unsuccessful participants due to the large number of applications we’re expecting.
The programme is part of the British Council’s work in the Gulf to foster collaboration between Gulf and UK individuals as well as institutions and to help young people to realise their potential and contribute to building sustainable knowledge based economies in the region.
How to Apply
Please download and complete the attached application form and return to the following email address:
entrepreneurshipUKGCC@britishcouncil.org We also welcome video applications: these should be no longer than 2 minutes duration and should answer the same application questions. Clips should also be emailed to entrepreneurshipUKGCC@britishcouncil.org in a file not exceeding 10 MB, preferably in .mov or .qt format.
Closing date for applications: 00:00 GST (Gulf Standard Time) 22 April 2016
Conditions of Participation
• You must be a GCC National (UAE, Kuwait, Qatar, Bahrain, Oman and Saudi Arabia)
• You should be under 35 years of age
• You should have been working on your current business project for at least one year
- You should have a project related to one or several of the foloowing fields: Women, Social Entreprises, Technology and Creative Industries
• Participants must be able to identify one grand challenge facing the development of their business (this will form part of the basis of the week’s activities)
• Your business or you should have an established presence on a social media platform (Linked In, Facebook, Twitter or Instagram)
• English level of IELTS 6.5 or equivalent (test may be required, and the British Council will arrange for the exam if a candidate’s English abilities need to be assessed)
• You need to be available to participate in the programme in Dubai and London between 28 May and 4 June 2016 (inclusive), and must also commit to sharing your experience with other entrepreneurs at an event in your own country in July 2016, as well as contributing to our current social media campaign تجربتي_غير# via your most followed social media platform.
• Preference will be given to registered companies with official bodies in their respective countries
Programme Outline
Saturday 28 May (Dubai) Participants travel to Dubai. Programme kick-off and Intercultural Fluency training
Sunday 29 May (Dubai) Intercultural Fluency training and London programme briefing
Monday 30 May (travel day) Flights from Dubai to London.
Tuesday 31 May (London) Entrepreneurship programme - Welcome dinner
Wednesday 1 June (London) Entrepreneurship programme – Grand Challenges
Thursday 2 June (London) Entrepreneurship programme. Debrief and next step planning session.
Friday 3 June (travel day) Flights to Dubai
Saturday 4 June (Dubai) Intercultural training debrief. 14.00 Participants depart Dubai
Important dates:
Deadline to receive applications (both video and online): 00:00 GST (Gulf Standard Time) 22 April 2016
Shortlisted applicants informed by: 29 April 2016
Shortlisted applicants confirming their participation: May 1 2016
Travel arrangements: May 2-May 5 2016
Travel to Dubai: 27 May or early 28 May 2016
Programme Kick-off in Dubai: 28 May 2016
Programme ends in Dubai: June 4 2016