Speakers:

Bülent Erbilgin

Entrepreneurship, Project Management & Teaming, and R&D Tech Management, Fung Institute for Engineering Leadership, University of California Berkeley (USA)

Visiting Academic, Entrepreneurship Center, King Abdullah University of Science and Technology (KSA)

Lama Hakem

Education Programs Lead, Entrepreneurship Center, King Abdullah University of Science and Technology (KSA)

– Hosted by Professor Ikram Blilou

Join us in auditorium 0215 between building 4 and 5. Registration is required.

Abstract

The driver for economic development and innovation continues to be the entrepreneurs. Some startups invent brand-new markets while others manage to enter markets crowded by large existing companies. In this seminar, Erbilgin and Hakem will explore how to make critical, early decisions starting from chaos and create an exciting new business. Attendees will gain insights on the value of learning by doing and prototyping while discussing tradeoffs between analysis, experimentation, and scale. The speakers will also review the courses offered by the KAUST Entrepreneurship Center.

About the speakers

Bülent Erbilgin has a PhD in Electrical Engineering from Stanford University (USA) and over 30 years of industry experience as well as several years of teaching experience at UC Berkeley (USA), Northeastern University (USA), and KAUST (KSA). As an executive of seven startups and public companies, he successfully released a wide range of products. Additionally, Erbilgin has mentored founders and students in various entrepreneurship classes to identify startup opportunities, develop business plans, and create venture capitalists (VC) presentations. He has guided a number of teams through all stages of forming a startup and has served on panels together with VCs to evaluate startups. Erbilgin blends his business leadership experience with an academic background to explore subjects from a business perspective in the classroom. He strongly believes in active learning, case study analysis, and experiential learning while heavily leveraging peer learning.

Lama Hakem has a PhD in Conflict Analysis and Resolution and was an Assistant Professor at different universities in Saudi Arabia. She has taught several classes for undergraduate and graduate students in the field of leadership, ethics, teaming, negotiation, and entrepreneurship. Currently, Hakem is co-teaching the elective entrepreneurship courses, and Entrepreneurship for All. She also runs workshops on different topics including design thinking and conflict resolution.