Student Life

  Have you ever imagined running your own restaurant in the future? Have you ever thought about competing with different people from different regions? Well, I have and I used my imagination in a training with two AUIS friends recently. On July 28-29, we attended the Five One Labs Startup Bootcamp, a two-day, intensive training on the skills and mindsets of entrepreneurship in Erbil. During the training, participants worked on a business idea to take it from concept to pitch. We defined the challenge, interviewed ‘customers’ to learn more about their needs, identified our value proposition, and developed our business model. We built prototypes and pitched them in front of a panel of impressive judges. It was hard work but extremely rewarding, and fun. Alice Bosley, executive director of Five One Labs, says, “I was so impressed with the ideas and the talent of the participants at startup bootcamp. It was such a pleasure working with and learning alongside everyone, and we look forward to hosting more bootcamps in the future!" A startup bootcamp is basically about sharing and expanding business ideas. Our group of AUIS students was excited to participate and present our idea, which is to link customers, pharmaceuticals, and medicine stores together for an efficient online delivery system. We want to develop and apply this idea because we want to make things easier for people when they need particular medication quickly and efficiently. "Being an entrepreneur does not only mean to think differently; but, to build your dream from nothing into concrete plans, finding solutions to problems, creating business models, prototypes, pitch, and then learning ways to turn it to real business. Above all, we have learned that these cannot be done individually. Thus, we introduced the idea to different people there including, mentors, judges, volunteers, and the participants, and we have the opportunity to keep in touch with them to support each other and share new projects between us,” said Peru Hussein, an AUIS student and a member of our team. The challenging part of starting up our business idea was to find out what our customers really need. In the beginning, knowing customers and understanding them seemed easy until we participated in this training program. One of the mentors, for instance, helped us define the challenges we might face like setting out a plan for our revenue and marketing research if we ever failed in spreading out the business in the region. "Med4all.com is a great idea and can be useful for everyone in this field such as pharmacists, wholesellers and individuals, especially since people here are face problems with pharmacies and they need this kind of service in critical situations. I saw the interface which is clear, user friendly, and safe because no one can ask for critical medicatiom without a prescription to avoid illegal requests. My advice is to add more features such as maps, customer support live chat, and delivery time,” said Mr. David, a mentor from Bite Tech Company. “I always thought our idea was perfect and ready to start, yet I never thought sbout important small details we were introduced to during the Bootcamp. Within the very intensive two days, I was taught how to pitch in only three minutes in front of four judges and an audience of 50. I learned that it is not how profitable your business idea is, it is, instead, about how effective and challenging it is to bring a new system to the whole region of Kurdistan,” said Ali Kawa, an AUIS student and a member of our team. Our challenges were simple, yet they were too difficult to recognize without the help of our mentors. “I actually really liked it. I had yours in my “top 3” when we started debating projects. You three had great enthusiasm and seem to have a really good idea,” said Noah Woodiwiss, one of the judges. It was such a great and useful experience for us. We want to encourage AUIS students to be part of such events to share ideas and gain skills as future leaders and entrepreneurs to expand their business ideas. Written by Halbast Abdullah, AUIS student and communications volunteer Photos: Five One Labs

Earlier in March this year, a group of undergraduate and Academic Preparatory Program (APP) students, accompanied by three APP instructors, spent their Nawroz break with children at a refugee camp in Rwanduz in the Kurdistan Region of Iraq. This is the third consecutive year AUIS students have organized an Alternative Spring Break (ASB) to dedicate their time for community service. AUIS graduate Mohammed Hersh generously donated a large sum for the trip.   The students spent an entire day with the kids doing various interactive and fun activities, including face painting, dancing, drawing, and other games. “My favorite part of the trip was getting to see AUIS students interacting with the refugee children. I loved getting to see a different side of everyone. I didn't know Ahmed was an origami and paper airplane whiz. I had no idea Hazher loved puzzles. Every child, even the super shy ones, would talk to Juman. I got to see Ali ride a bouncy horse! There were so many small moments when I was reminded how amazing everyone is. It made me appreciate AUIS and its students even more,” said Ms. Katy McGarr, one of the APP instructors accompanying us on the trip. “This was my second time participating in ASB, it was well organized and I really enjoyed it. The best part of the trip was the team work. We spent the whole day doing activities for the kids and making them happy. I ended up painting bunnies, Batman and Spiderman on their bright, beautiful faces,” said student Zryan Ibrahim. APP Instructor Valerie Wayson echoed Zryan's thoughts: “The fact that we could make a change, a change that made those children happy, and bring joy was everything to us. Happiness is free, but so is sadness and pain. For us to take away some of their sadness is such a beautiful gift that was given from all our hearts," she said about her experience at the camp.  The students were divided into several different groups to arrange the event. They worked on fundraising, planning the program, transportation, buying supplies, and housing. Participants raised over one million Iraqi dinars from a cook-off hosted at AUIS prior to the event. “I was stunned by the generosity of the AUIS community. I know that AUIS students and staff are caring and compassionate; I see that every day. However, I never in my wildest dreams expected to raise so much money at our cook-off. I was blown away. Students who weren't even going on the trip brought food, worked at the table, and helped clean up. It was incredibly inspiring to see how everyone played a part in the success of our trip,” said Ms. McGarr. >> View a photo story of Alternative Spring Break on our Facebook Page.  There were also several anonymous donors, and the largest donation of USD 1,500 was made by AUIS graduate Mohammed Hersh Rashid. His contribution was used to buy supplies such as footballs, notebooks, pencil sharpeners, erasers, coloring books, play dough, and other toys for the children in the camps. The money from the cook-off was spent for purchasing a variety of English and Arabic books. The AUIS community donated books for pre-schoolers, school children, and teenagers, and the students purchased several picture dictionaries, teaching resources, and flashcards. The rest of the funds were used to purchase face paint, coloring books, a tug-of-war rope, and snacks. On April 6th, participants of the 2017 Spring Break met with President Ferguson and Mr. Mohammed Hersh. "As many know our country has gone through a lot because of the war and ISIS in the past two to three years. I personally think the University and the students have done a great job in helping those in need through these charities. As an AUIS alumnus, I thought it is was the least I could do to give back to the University and our community." - Mohammed Hersh Rashid "This was a great event, because it recognized two important themes of AUIS: Alumni supporting the university and the university supporting the community. Mr. Mohammed is one of hundreds of AUIS graduates who are staying connected to the university as they move forward with their lives and careers. As for the service: 2017 was the third year that AUIS students have donated their time and talents to others during the Nawroz Break. This trip was led by Ms. Katy McGarr, and we want to thank her," said Dean Geoffrey Gresk, at the meeting. Ms. McGarr apprecited the genrous contribution by Mr. Hersh to the trip: "As one of the organizers of this years’ service trip, I was blown away by Mr. Hersh's donation. It is a testament to the generosity of the AUIS community and how that generosity and commitment to service extends beyond graduation. It was an honor for the ASB 2017 team to be able to deliver Mr. Hersh's donation to the camps. I know that the many supplies he provided will have a lasting impact on the education and emotional health of the refugees we visited. In addition, I know that his example will inspire current AUIS students and future alumni to follow in his footsteps."  There are three refugee camps in Rwanduz, including Rwanduz, Kawlokan and Akoyan camps, built by the World Orphans organization. Most families are Yazidis/Ezidis who took refuge in these camps after fleeing from Shingal, and others include the Shabak who came from Mosul. There are about 100 families and 200 kids in the camps. The organization has built a school in Soran, and they also provided buses for them.  If you want to be part of the Service Learning Program, please contact Ms. Farah Mousa at [email protected].  Article and photos contributed by Communications student volunteer, Halbast Abdullah.