Industry, Innovation, and Infrastructure Support Policy at AASTMT

1.Description
The Arab Academy for Science, Technology, and Maritime Transport (AASTMT) supports the principles of the entrepreneurial education and enhancing the competitiveness and sustainability not only among the Egyptian economy but also within the broader Arab economy.
AASTMT established its Entrepreneurship Center “AASTEC” in 2015, with the objective of empowering youth to drive the realization of sustainable economic growth in the region. The Center’s works “to be the regional hub that empowers youth, supports startups and businesses throughout the Arab region and Africa”, the aim of " Entrepreneurship, innovation, and industry support policy "is to support creativity and innovation as one of AASTMT top priorities.
Also, the policy targeting the expansion of long-distance education programs and professional training, for AAST students and entrepreneurs, mobilize the outputs of scientific research, linking it to the challenges that exist in various economic and industrial sectors, recommend innovative solutions that support different industries.
AASTMT sector focused incubators, aims at creating a base of innovators, developers and entrepreneurs who develop competitive prototypes and applications that support the industry localization and replacing imports.

2.Scope
AASTMT seeks through its Entrepreneurship, innovation, and industry support policy to support its various entities to invest in its students, professors and researchers linking them to the market needs with the aim of creating quality jobs that contribute to sustainable economic development in the Arab region and Egypt.
This policy applies to all academic and non-academic staff employed by the Arab Academy for Science, Technology and Maritime Transport including all faculties, divisions and departments. The geographical coverage of the policy covers all AASTMT campuses in Egypt and the Arab region.

3.Aims of the Policy
The policy aims at achieving sustainability of the academic and practical excellence of the Arab Academy, supporting the entrepreneurial education and best use of the academic research and the physical and human resources at AAST to connect with industry needs and challenges. Also, the policy aims to spread the entrepreneurship culture, not only for AASTians but also for entrepreneurs and Arab and local community, with the aim of enhancing the competitiveness and sustainability, boosting employability, job creation of the Arab and Egyptian Economy.

4.Introduction
AASTMT established its Entrepreneurship Center “AASTEC” in 2015, with the objective of empowering youth to drive the realization of sustainable economic growth in the region. The Center’s works “to be the regional hub that empowers youth, supports startups and businesses throughout the Arab region and Africa”, with the aim to build a generation of youth entrepreneurs and change agents to positively impact the social and economic conditions of Arab economies by enabling environment for growth, which stimulates innovative initiatives and private business functioning through utilizing the resources of the Arab Academy and its extended network.
AASTEC prepared a clear strategy for supporting Egyptian, Arab startups, entrepreneurs and university students, throughout its different programs, that serves not only AAST Community: undergraduate, postgraduate, Alumni, but also, for the youth, entrepreneurs and startups in Egypt and the region.
The strategy aims at building & connecting a healthy ecosystem for entrepreneurship in the Arab, African region and the Egyptian governorates and local communities with the promising youth to help establish robust region and Egypt’s development. Also, the policy developed aimed to support the efforts of the Arab Academy towards transforming into an entrepreneurial university, for that reason AAST established a specialized academy to support startups namely “AAST Startups School”,
AASTEC launched its sector focused incubators, considered the first of its kind in the region that aims at building and connecting entrepreneurial ecosystems in the leading economic sectors, in specific the supply chain and logistic incubator, MashreQ tourism incubator, and MASAR Agribusiness incubator and recently the incubator for people with disability (GoodWill Incubator), in addition to a national entrepreneurship competition named (Egypt Rally competition).
A recent program was launched namely “Rally Accelerate” that focused on the operating startups on five industrial sectors, it’s a full advanced program that focuses registered startups who are eager to develop and grow their startups, reaching scalability and international expansion.
The winners have awarded international visit to European and German ecosystems to better gain the required knowledge, in addition to the opportunity to pitch and showcase of their startups in front of many investors, VCs, business leaders in international summits.
Specialized programs directed to students and fresh graduates (AAST Youth incubator and AAST’ Grade to Business program also meet the founder’s initiative), all these programs aiming at better engagement of students with AASTMT staff and management to boost innovation and entrepreneurial culture and supporting students to develop their own projects in the market.
Engagement of AASTMT staff from different faculties, departments and campuses is also crucial for efficient connection with the students to mentor and coach their innovative ideas and linking to the industry needs,

5.Policy Statement
The Entrepreneurship, innovation, and industry support policy is responsible to support the efforts of the Arab Academy towards transforming into an entrepreneurial university and to be the regional hub that empowers youth, pushing startups and businesses throughout Egypt the Arab region, achieving sustainability of the academic and practical excellence, through the support of creativity and innovation the continuous development, in cooperation with different international, regional and local partners.Also, transfer of know-how, technical and scientific support in cooperation with top notch universities, for the latest updates in the academic sciences and best practices in industry is the key for success.
The Entrepreneurship, innovation, and industry support policy supporting innovation and linking to industry, through:
* Providing improved framework conditions and knowledge to support industry and academia on how to innovate and accelerate innovative ideas “Stimulating Innovation”
* New mechanisms to support industry and academia to turn those innovative ideas into actual products, processes, services, and business models “Enabling innovation “
* Support industry and academia to turn those innovative ideas into actual products, processes, services, and business models Facilitating innovation
* Put new products and technologies on the market, be an integral part of national and global value chains “Commercialize innovation”.

6.Objectives
* Achieving sustainability of the academic and practical excellence of the Arab Academy, through the support of creativity and innovation.
* Mobilize the outputs of scientific research, linking it to the challenges that exist in various sectors, recommend innovative solutions that support different industries.
* A main policy objective is to operate as center for technology transfer and enterprise creation, integrating with the innovation labs and industry based innovation in the enterprise life cycle, and solve the challenge of missing the know-how and bridge the gap to the local industry.
* Spread the entrepreneurship culture, not only for AASTians but also for entrepreneurs and Arab and local community and supporting the entrepreneurial education and enhancing the competitiveness and sustainability.

7.Implementation and desired outcomes 
In general terms, the Entrepreneurship, innovation, and industry support policy, aims at scaling its programs nationally, regionally and internationally with the objective to support the enablers of the entrepreneurship’ ecosystem, on one side, and on the other side to create more opportunities for startups and potential entrepreneurs, with clear linkage of industry support, AASTEC policy is to do that through supporting entrepreneurship enablers in addition to providing direct support to startups.
Specific actions to be taken on both the medium and long term, first: the medium-term actions and related out comes:
* Direct or indirect support of 500 startups within the coming 3 years in Egypt, MENA region & Africa, through our incubation programs, Rally competition and other platforms.
* Inspiring and changing the culture of 5,000 potential entrepreneur through our startups school different online entrepreneurship programs.
* Having a unicorn among our portfolio of supported startups within 5 years.
* Helping our supported network of startups create 3,000 job opportunities for youth within 3 years.
* Support entrepreneurs in less developed and underserved areas in the country through customized programs targeting them. We already started MASAAR incubator, MashreQ Tourism incubator, and TWT agribusiness incubator in upper Egypt.
* Support people with disability, and innovative ideas the provides solutions for people with disability, through the “GoodWill incubator”.
* Rally Accelerate focuses on the registered startups who are eager to develop and grow their startups, reaching scalability and international expansion, where the winners have awarded international visit to European and German ecosystems and have the opportunity to pitch and showcase of their startups in front of many investors, VCs, business leaders in international summits.
* Support the innovation in the tourism sector in the Arab region, through Tourism Entrepreneurship Digital Program for Arab States (TED Arabs) “an integrated initiative that supports creating an Eco-Systems in the Arab region for the entrepreneurs and innovators in tourism sector, an expected outreach is 2,000 beneficiaries from all five pilot countries (Egypt-Saudi-Bahrain-Sudan, Comoros).
* Having 40 university-based startups and 5 spin offs through our campuses, resulting from entrepreneurship courses and youth incubator and other programs.
Long-term actions and outcomes:
* Quality of life of youth: through supporting young entrepreneurs at universities, promoting the culture, and empowering their startups directly through our platforms like “Rally competition” or through supporting the enablers like entrepreneurship centers or incubators based in those universities.
* Economic development in Egypt: our sector focused incubators are addressing critical sectors that have direct impact on the economic growth like tourism and supply chain, those industries are making a significant contribution to the Egyptian economy and there still a great opportunity for disruption.

8.Performance indicators 
* Average of jobs/employment created
* Employment Growth
* Number of Spin Offs/Startups Created
* Average investment attracted
* Incubatee Profit Growth
* No. of services enterprises / sectors served

9.Internal Monitoring and Auditing  
Monitoring is undertaken according to the logical framework, and the technical, financial reports produced under the above-mentioned outputs, as well as the frequency of project management meetings.

10.Review Program 

View, Policy Document