About

Program Description

Science, Faith and Innovation for Human Dignity is a unique program hosted at the College of Islamic Studies (CIS), Hamad Bin Khalifa University (HBKU). It offers an opportunity for young scholars, professionals, entrepreneurs, and innovators who aspire to plan, engage, reflect, and act upon the nexus of science, faith, and innovation to respond to global challenges that undermine social cohesion and human dignity.

The main objectives of the program are as follows:

• Learn faith-driven practices in building a more sustainable and resilient world for human dignity.
• Make faith integral in developing social, economic, environmental innovations to enhance the lives and the well-being of Muslims.
• Shift the current mindset of science communication to a more human-centered science conversation.
• Design innovative and impactful solutions serving humanity and utilize from nexus to enhance different aspects of Muslim lives.
• Design business plans and Theory of Changes (TOCs) to translate ideas into viable, feasible and desirable products, services, and processes.
• Cultivate digital safe spaces where ethical behavior and moral reasoning are promoted.
• Build a roadmap for humanity – participants will work collaboratively and produce a roadmap for post-Covid humanity.

What is Innovative About the Program?

• The study of the Science-Faith-Innovation Nexus to uphold human dignity.
• The co-production and co-creation of an academic and educational curriculum.
• The integration of educational modules produced by Doha Debates.
• The promotion of Maker Culture in science communication and innovative design in collaboration with Qatar Scientific Club.
• The promotion of high interconnection between components.
• The entire program process will culminate in the collaborative production of a mega MOOC (massive open online course).
• The transmission of vast swaths of personalized knowledge between the providers and beneficiaries (i.e. the prosumer).

Our Program is ultimately aligned with QF and HBKU strategic objectives and supports the building of a greater, stronger Multiversity in line with the goals of Her Excellency Sheikha Hind bint Hamad Al Thani, Vice Chairperson and CEO of Qatar Foundation for Education, Science and Community Development.

Program Components

• Deep Dives: To kick off the program, Deep Dive sessions led by respectable academics will involve participating graduate students in discussions grounded in mutual respect for everyone’s ideas and the pursuit of open-minded intellectual advancement. The Deep Dives, curated by Jennifer Geist of Doha Debates, are designed to engage participants and event facilitators alike in conversations that require critical thinking, self-awareness, empathy, tolerance, a sense of civic responsibility, a willingness to learn from others, and a firm belief that individual action matters. The carefully curated set of materials for the Deep Dives sessions help foster the mindsets needed to unite and inspire a generation to solve the world’s challenges and build a better future for generations to come. These sessions will support participants through a systems thinking process as they work to understand and gradually resolve complex global issues through a four-step PERA process: Prepare, Engage, Reflect, and Act.
• Halaqa Talks: A halaqa, or circle of learning, is where students learn in a small group setting with their teacher, sometimes through the Socratic method or a lecture format. Short, TED-style talks are given about global problems and local solutions. Halaqa talks represent local tradition imbued with a global twist, which fosters inspirational and innovative thinking among youth. Accomplished faith-novators and faith-preneurs with international recognition will be sharing their experiences with the participants.
• Ideathon: Participants (high school, undergraduate, and above) will then take the inspiration they’ve garnered from the 12 incredible visiting faith-novators and faith-preneurs to develop their own social, economic, and environmental innovations to solve the problems they found were most critical during the Deep Dive sessions. Throughout the Ideathon stage, participants will now act as mentors, taking their ideas from the Halaqa Deep Dives and rigorously developing them into feasible, fundable projects. Participants’ main goal is to turn their ideas into game-changing, innovative projects that have the potential to transform human lives and uplift human dignity, developing practical solutions to the issues facing Muslim communities around the world. For more information on the Ideathon stage, please refer to Annex 1.
• Islam Lab: Then lastly, as with every successful innovation-driven initiative, the most feasible and creative project ideas from the participants will have the chance to become a reality through the Islam Lab phase, the final and longest-lasting portion of the program. Islam Lab will be a maker space shaped by the co-designing and co-producing of educational curriculum and content with the supervision of the lead mentors (Jennifer Geist, Marium Hussein, and Layla El Zein) and other mentors. In addition, participants will design research initiatives under College of Islamic Studies Cluster funding schemes and match with scholars in CIS to conduct thematic research projects supporting the Nexus.

Apply now by sending an email with your CV to makermajlis@hbku.edu.qa