AEIC - UI

AEIC has been conducting 2 programs for undergraduates at AUD to facilitate student ideas aimed to launch startups and to scale.
AEIC offers Stanford University’s Innovation and Entrepreneurship course aimed at mindset change (course code: BUSI 121) and, IDEO & Dubai Future Foundation’s Ideation and Incubation preparation course (code: BUSI 251).
In Spring 2019 the Mindset Change course was implemented and in Spring 2020 the Ideation Course was implemented under AEIC.
AEIC helped graduate 5 cohorts in 2019-2020 in the Mindset course, and helped graduate 2 cohorts in 2020 in the Ideation course, and these 2 programs are currently running.
Every year, AEIC hopes to graduate 2 cohorts in each of these programs, with at least 8 startup companies emerging from the Ideation program, with founders spanning a variety of undergraduate and graduate disciplines.
In Fall of 2021, AEIC became AUD’s premier on-campus certified incubator (AEIC-Ui).

AEIC is very excited to see students nationwide launching similar programs, and has received requests to share the framework used to create the AEIC structure.

AEIC-Ui Need Finding

AEIC-Ui has been initiated to fill a need in AUD’s entrepreneurial ecosystem.
AEIC wanted to fill a gap between AUD’s classes & clubs that help students form an idea, and the incubators & early stage investors who fund and support full-time entrepreneurs.
When AEIC spoke to student entrepreneurs, many of them felt that they didn’t have adequate resources for this “in-between” stage — especially since incubators and investors are looking for a business model and traction that is hard to develop as a student founder.
- Ideas - Classes and clubs can help students come up with an idea, find a team and do some initial research either through entrepreneurship programs, student clubs, or on their own or through the mindset change course of BUSI 121
- Full-Time - Incubators, accelerators and other startup programs can help full time founders further iterate and get traction
- Funding - Angel investors and venture capitalists can take an equity stake in a startup company in exchange for funding

Inspire mindset change through courses, programs, workshops, seminars to create design catalysts by:
- Conducting interviews
- Understanding people
- Getting started
- Attracting and retaining talent

Implement customer validation, prototype testing and go-to-market strategies to deliver results by:
- Knowing solutions are working
- Making concepts real
- Planning next steps

Support AEIC’s student founders – to help student entrepreneurs succeed in their entrepreneurial journey through intensive training
Gain early access to founders – AEIC-Ui will be the only student focused and eventually student run Incubator-Accelerator on AUD campus with a potential to incubate and accelerate 35 teams / year on its full potential across all of AUD schools
Gain focused access – unlike broader entrepreneurial clubs at AUD, AEIC-Ui will allow sponsors direct access to students who are actively working at growing their startup companies
Gain community insights – to eventually be a student led management team that is plugged into AEIC and AUD’s greater entrepreneurial system for providing suitable work environment to start own businesses with support facilitated on technical, economic, market, workforce planning, advisory, legal, budgeting, financial and investment matters
Increase brand recognition – AEIC-Ui plans 50+ events yearly to cater to targeted audience as well as a larger audience comprised of the entire AUD community. This spread allows sponsors access to a wider audience for brand recognition to facilitate project development on appropriate basis and increase chance of success through reduced technical and administrative costs

INSPIRE mindset change through courses, programs, workshops, seminars to create design catalysts
IDEATE through design thinking to build innovation capabilities
IMPLEMENT customer validation, prototype testing and go-to-market strategies to deliver results