Dr. Hayat Sindi, founder and Chief Executive Officer of the Imagination & Ingenuity Institute (i2) delivers a speech during the graduation of the first batch of Arab minds enrolled in the institute's fellowship program. Riyadh will host on Feb. 17 the annual conference by the Imagination and Ingenuity Institute (i2) to celebrate the graduation of the first batch of Arab minds enrolled in the institute's fellowship program, the first of its kind in the Arab world. The conference titled “Impossibility to Impact” will represent an important station in the history of the institute, by creating a platform for a number of theses related to creative projects. These projects were carried out by a number of Middle Eastern entrepreneurs during their fellowship period. The conference will create an opportunity to exchange ideas about various topics that will be presented by a number of selected international speakers in the creative entrepreneurship and it will be attended by a number of international investors and businessmen. Dr. Hayat Sindi, founder and Chief Executive Officer of the Imagination & Ingenuity Institute (i2), said all fellow entrepreneurs underwent a comprehensive program where they spent most of their time inside the Harvard Labs for creativity (i-Lab) supported by several Harvard Business School faculty members, including several Nobel prize winners, world-class authors and experts before they moved to visit Media Lab at Massachusetts where they explored some experiments and collaborated with faculty members and research assistance. “It will be an exceptional day as we will host these brilliant minds that worked for months to develop and create innovative projects. Those fellow entrepreneurs shared their experiences with outstanding minds that were awarded the Nobel Prize, and faculty members of international institutes, in addition to a number of international authors and experts. “Time has come to transform these Arab thoughts into sustainable projects,” Sindi said. She said “i2 believes that the issue of scientific research and technological innovation has surpassed being unique projects to become important issues for the whole society. This huge project aims to encourage imagination and creativity to enrich the Arab region through the minds of its young entrepreneurs and through the creation of a unique scientific community.” “We aim to create a comprehensive environmental system where minds can unite with supporter and governments to benefit from research and projects that will change societies,” she added The conference is expected to present a number of inspirational success stories to charge entrepreneurs minds and encourage investors to adopt and support valuable projects and research. Imagination & Ingenuity Institute (i2), headquartered in Jeddah, had finished receiving fellowship applications for the first batch that joined the program last February 2013. Applicants went through a number of phases that included choosing the best 50 ideas. These will pass through competitive workshops to choose i2 fellows who applied to join the fellowship program which allows them to take a look at modern theories and scientific practices in various fields in addition to learning about business innovation and leadership. During the practical phase, the fellows worked together to understand the complex dynamics of the business innovation sector at Harvard Business College, before moving to the media lab in Massachusetts Institute for Technology. During their stay they visited and explored some experiments that have been done inside the lab in cooperation with member of the teaching faculty and assistant researchers. The i2 Institute aims to solve issues related to energy, health, water and environment. – SG
