The iAccelerate Activate Program

Noor Jarbou joined the iAccelerate Activate Program for the chance to understand how to better pitch her skills to the academic world. What she didn’t expect to gain was the confidence and knowledge to bring her ideas to life as an entrepreneur.

The PhD student, who is the fourth year of a thesis focusing on neuroscience, said she was surprised by everything she learnt in Activate and how it benefited her as a researcher.
“By the end of the course, I found that my skills could exceed the academic world and help me to go into the business world, which means that Activate has widened my future career choices,” Ms Jarbou said.

“The main thing I gained from Activate is that is gave me the strength to express myself, even if I don’t have the perfect language. Because English is my second language, previously I used to escape any chances to speak up, but after the program I realised it doesn’t matter. Discussing my idea in a second language is actually a strength. I just need to believe in my idea.”

Ms Jarbou is part of the latest cohort to undertake iAccelerate’s Activate Program, which provides start-ups, entrepreneurs and academics with the foundation of a sustainable business model.

Pairing participants with iAccelerate mentors and facilitators, Activate takes place over seven weeks, and features workshops, self-paced learning, individual mentoring, active learning, and peer support.

Participants will gain a fundamental understanding in new product development, building customer discovery and relationships, growth and innovation.

Activate provides participants from a diversity of backgrounds with a principled approach that enables them to bring their ideas to life, whether that is a new start-up or a solo entrepreneur. It is also beneficial to academics, who are looking to translate their research into a real-world commercial application but don’t know where to start.

Dr Tamantha Stutchbury, Director of Research at iAccelerate, said Activate can fast-track a business or research idea, providing participants with tangible, real help that will enable them to bring their concepts to reality.

“There is so much potential out there among researchers and academics, but they often know where to start or how to commercialise their ideas. Activate is unlike any other program; it is an interactive, practical course in which participants gain the valuable skills and knowledge they need to realise their ideas,” Dr Stutchbury said.

“Activate is built on sound principles that focus on testing your idea with your target market, obtaining an understanding of the lean methodology, innovation, sustainability and learning how to pitch. In turn providing the ideal foundation on which to build your business or commercialise your research.”

Abraham Rose, who is in his final year of a Bachelor of Engineering at UOW, echoed Ms Jarbou’s experiences with iAccelerate’s Activate.

“Entrepreneurship can be a door to attain agency over technologies that one develops. I have been eager to actualise the potential through my honours thesis project to bring something of benefit to the community, and provide me with exciting and meaningful work,” Mr Rose said.

“For me, guidance under the Activate Program was the perfect complement to the mentoring I was receiving under the UOW 10K Club Competition tech-business award as it had the same aims.”

As he finishes his degree, Mr Rose said Activate will help him to take his ideas into the real world, with a strong understanding of business, entrepreneurship, and innovation.

“The aim of both is to teach how to rapidly acquire the feedback necessary to develop a business idea to solve the real problems of real people. The Activate Program helps you to progress towards a viable business model, including by understanding your customers and your competition, and by developing and adapting your unique solution, while expending the minimum resources required.”

Ms Jarbou has already applied the skills she learnt through Activate and recommends it to all academics who might be considering how to commercialise their research or how to translate their work into the market.

“I have already used some of the skills I gained while applying for a grant at UOW. Activate taught me how to logically think about my project and how to present it the way that it needs to be presented to be convenient to others. The program was very beneficial for me.”