The Current Impact And Future Of Incubators And Accelerators

A lot has been written about the social and economic fallout from the events of this year, and the same is true for the output and plans for most businesses worldwide. With the pandemic pushing back countless deadlines, plans and projects, the time to focus on innovation and how to adapt to changes is clearly a vital talking point.

These changes may well be forced ones, but it is a true test of any organisation’s mettle in how to push forward from this and face those challenges. Innovation usually means bringing creative thinking, and has added prospects that may not have come to realisation had it not been for the events of 2020. In that way, it’s worth having an optimistic view that business opportunities will still present themselves, and in the digital age connectivity happens to be the first positive step.

Hopefully the subject will encourage and inspire others, as we will look in detail at projects in Cork, Ireland and the middle east hub of Saudi Arabia, both linked to us here at Submit.com. These will show that having a variety of projects and plans in motion can contribute to networking and new businesses. In terms of entrepreneurs looking for the right break, we can also learn that, whether talking about incubators or accelerators, either form of business would benefit from expanding both in terms of outlook and broadening contacts.

Innovation portal: KAUST case study

Technology is certainly beneficial in terms of helping to piece together a new workable plan with others. One notable example of a company looking to continue thriving and expanding in terms of its output is that of ‘The King Abdullah University of Science and Technology’, abbreviated to its name KAUST. Their innovation hub is one which stands out, despite all of the surrounding complications of the pandemic.

From their base in Saudi Arabia, KAUST runs its own entrepreneur program which is open to both the faculty and its students, showcasing innovation across many projects. KAUST is using the innovation portal at Submit to keep updated regarding pioneering projects. In turn this connects investors and sponsors alike to the company’s ecosystem, as the university ‘“conducts curiosity-driven and goal-oriented research to address global challenges related to food, water, energy, and the environment.”

Roberto Ciaramaria is the head of innovation at KAUST, and he talks about the investments made throughout the University and how they are necessary to stay competitive, particularly in online based programming. This in turn helps to boost the innovation so that the progress made can continue, even as the pandemic threatens to slow output in many areas of work.

Submit has been present and working with KAUST in this specific area, ensuring that their innovation portal is working at the most efficient level possible. The benefit of this is listed on their website as having ‘experts in a range of research domains including genomics, Machine Learning, marine science and more, are working with partners around the world to aid in the response to the COVID-19 pandemic.’

Ciaramaria has spoken to Submit about their plans regarding future development and how this online programme is expecting to attract somewhere in the range of 20,000 applicants. ‘This is very exciting in terms of nurturing the business success stories of the future’. Given the current restrictions in many universities, the online classes are running mentorship from their staff to ensure that online students and entrepreneurs can continue to have access to materials and any help required.

Using Submit’s innovation portal, the university plans to teach students skills and the necessary survival experience to help stand out in a competitive market. These ideas will also look to help in the creation of jobs in the region, and stand in line with the University’s outlook in research and development.

CIT Enterprise case study, boosting entrepreneurs and their prospects

CIT Enterprise had also been aware of Submit under our previous incarnation of ‘Platform Avenue’. At that particular time, the team was working with the South Cork Local Enterprise Office and the Rubicon Centre.

CIT Enterprise were at this point accepting applications on a number of projects, and were trialling the system through the Local Enterprise office which they found extremely positive from the start. Following on from that, the organisation moved forward and began the ‘Student Inc.’ program, partnering with 2 other colleges. The focus of Student Inc is in helping to inspire and aid all forms of new entrepreneurs, helping with business development skills and expanding upon their existing ideas. While alterations to the existing set-up had to be made, the students still continue to receive guidance online in the fields of market research, finance, planning and more.

Building on the relationship with Submit.com, the team are able to accept the online applications and easily process them in a workable manner. Beforehand, this would have taken up far more time as the team would have required a huge number of printed copies of all the information required to go along with planning, management and different aspects of how to go about with their respective ideas. Adding to that would have been the question of storage space, and how to keep copies of all of that from each perspective entrepreneur unique to their own applications.

With the system at Submit, CIT Enterprise are now able to accept all of their applications online in a much faster amount of time and thereby sharing them online efficiently. The additional work of posting and printing copies to applicants has been vastly reduced, and the organisation have found that the benefits of using Submit’s systems have proven to be highly effective right from the beginning.

CIT Enterprise and further details of their output in helping entrepreneurs can be read here.

Flexibility and fulfilment with submit

At Submit, the level of commitment and progress that we have seen from our customers is something that we ourselves take pride in with regards to motivation. From the examples mentioned here, the pathway has been similar in terms of both companies and start-ups experiencing a surge in applications and questioning how best to process this information in a digital framing.

This refers to how Submit as a brand likes to build special relationships with clients online, while keeping them up to date and being prepared to help out at all times. The platforms that we use demonstrate as much in terms of organisation and flexibility, helpful just for both the new business starting out as well as those more established in their respective fields.

As the world shifts towards so many changes, Submit is dedicated to boosting and supporting the needs of entrepreneurs and the innovative talent that will help to connect the world as much as possible. In a digital environment such as the present time, the question of connectivity just goes to show that businesses, and in turn, the innovation they aspire to can continue to thrive even when aspects of the world face uncertain times.

Through the various online programmes that businesses and schools now run, potential leaders for the future can learn more about their trade and plan for the long term in a successful way.

For a free trial, please get in touch with our team today, all details regarding plans and pricing are available here. Our team are waiting for you and happy to help out at all times!