Connect with us at the QRDI Council pavilion at Web Summit Qatar 2026

Pavilion #E515, Hall 1

Doha Exhibition and Convention Center(DECC)

February 2 - 4, 2026

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Browse The Innovation Hub Schedule at the QRDI Council Pavilion.

Explore the talks, Panel Discussions, Announcements, and many more activities on Feb 2 - 4.

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February 2026

The Qatar Innovation Stack: Funding, Partners, and R&D at Scale

Pavilion #E515
Monday 2 Feb | 10:00 - 11:00 AM
Speakers
Hind Zaki

Senior Program Director, QRDI Council

Rama Chakaki

President, QSTP

Hessa Al-Thani

Head - Qatar & MENA, Professional Services Sector, QFC

Nejoud Al Jehani

Executive Director Strategy & Programs, QRDI Council

Shaikha AlRomaihi

Head of VC investments, QDB Services Sector, QFC

Majed Lababidi,

Director of Ecosystem Integration, Alchemist Doha

Digital Health: Research, Innovation and Impact

Pavilion #E515
Monday 2 Feb | 11:00 - 11:45 AM
Speakers
Dr. Sara Abdulla

Senior Research Program Manager, QRDI Council

Dr. Yaman Tayyar

CEO, Prorenata

Dr. Juliet Ibrahim

Director of E-Health, MoPH

Dr. Abdulla Yousuf

Executive Director, Itqan Clinical Simulation and Innovation Center

Dr. Ahmed Elmagarmid

Executive Director, Qatar Computing Research Institute

Dr. Slim Slama

Chief Executive Office, World Innovation Summit for Health

Innolight & InnoCompass: Your Gateway to Innovation

Pavilion #E515
Monday 2 Feb | 12:00 - 12:30 PM
Speakers
Haytham Ali

Director of Collaboration Platforms, QRDI Council

Dr. Alwala Yousif

Monitoring, Evaluation and Learning Director, QRDI Council

Open Innovation In Qatar: Insights & Success Stories

Pavilion #E515
Monday 2 Feb | 12:30 - 1:00 PM
Speakers
Dr. Ali Ba-Khamis

Senior Program Specialist,​ Innovation Development and  Adoption Programs, QRDI

Hamdan Merchant

Senior Vice President, Business  Cons & Tender Mgmt, GWC

James Ronald Mason

Senior Economist, Government

Archit  Naraniwal

Co Founder and Director​Faclon Labs

Dr. Mats Lindgren

Co-founder & CEO​Dcipher Analytics

Smart, Sustainable, Arid Cities

Pavilion #E515
Monday 2 Feb | 1:00 - 2:00 PM
Speakers
Dr. Abdulrahman Abu-Nada

Senior Research Program Manager, QRDI Council

Ghanim al Sulaiti 

CEO at Enbat Group

Abdulrahman Al-Mana

Head of Policies and Vision, Ministry of Municipality

Wafic Naccash

Director Government Affairs, Microsoft

Sebastien Turbot

Director of Advocacy and Communications, Earthna

Dr. Azzam Abu Rayash

Assistant Professor CSE HBKU and CEO, Polaris

From Validation to Market: Accelerating Startup Scale​

Pavilion #E515
Monday 2 Feb | 2:00 - 3:00 PM
Speakers
Dr. Abdelhak Belaidi

Program Manager,​ Innovation Development &  Adoption Programs, QRDI

Talha A. Mirza

Program Manager​ Earthna

Tarik Sultan

Partner, Builders VC

Dr. Ahmed Albadi

Co-founder and Chief AI Officer, Byanat AI

AI x Quantum x Compute: Building a Frontier Tech Cluster in Qatar

Pavilion #E515
Monday 2 Feb | 3:00 - 3:45 PM
Speakers
Anna Turskaya

Program Manager, QRDI Council

Dr. Ahmed Elmagarmid

Executive Director - Qatar Computing Research Institute

Dr. Ahmad S. Abushaikha,

CEO, QASR

Irfan Verjee

UAE Country Transformation Lead, IBM

Mohammed Mohsen

Solution Engineering Lead, Microsoft

Gabriel Talbot-Lachance

Chief Technology Officer, Lillia

Innolight & InnoCompass: Your Gateway to Innovation

Pavilion #E515
Tuesday 3 Feb | 9:15 - 9:45 AM
Speakers
Haytham Ali

Director of Collaboration Platforms, QRDI Council

Dr. Alwala Yousif

Monitoring, Evaluation and Learning Director, QRDI Council

Cluster Takeoff: Launching the Future of Aviation Innovation

Pavilion #E515
Tuesday 3 Feb | 9:45 - 10:30 AM
Speakers
Oscar Barranco Liebana,

RDI Strategy & Clusters Director, QRDI Council

Mohammed Haider Arif Hayat

VP Innovation, Qatar Airways Group

Lee Ebbutt

SVP Technology and Innovation, MATAR

Raza Ali

VP Investments and Innovation, IAG

Wissam Costandi

CEO, Emma Systems

Unlocking Innovation Through KTP: Exploring the value of Industry-academia collaboration

Pavilion #E515
Tuesday 3 Feb | 10:30 - 11:30 AM
Speakers
Dr. Ayman Bassil

Program Director, RDI Talent, QRDI Council

Hissa Al-Badr

Program Manager Transformation, Qatar Airways

Dr Reda Bendraou 

Acting Vice President Applied Research and Graduate Studies, UDST

Dr. Jose Juan Mijares Chan

R&D Director, Snoonu

Dr Joe Welch 

 KTP Program Manager, University College London (UCL) 

Seeding Innovation: How Small Business Grant Strengthen Qatar’s Startup Ecosystem

Pavilion #E515
Tuesday 3 Feb | 11:30 - 12:15 AM
Speakers
Nada Al-Olaqi

Senior Program Director - Innovation Development &  Adoption Programs​, QRDI Council

Khalid Abu Jassoum

Co-founder & Chairman, Ibtechar

Dr. Aiman Mahmood Erbad

Professor and VP Research at Qatar University &​ Co-Founder, Qamia LLC

Pradeep Desu

Operating Partner, Human Capital

How AI is Transforming Healthcare Delivery

Pavilion #E515
Tuesday 3 Feb | 12:15 - 12:45 PM
Speakers
Dr Maher Hakim

Chief Advisor for Innovation Ecosystem, QRDI Council

Dr. Taha Kass-Hout

Global Chief Science and Technology Officer, GE Healthcare

Crossing the Valley of Death: Technology Development Grants as Strategic Capital

Pavilion #E515
Tuesday 3 Feb | 12:45 - 1:15 PM
Speakers
Nejoud Al-Jehani

Executive Director​ Strategy and Programs, QRDI Council

Sujit Chakrabarty

Founder and CEO​, Lillia

Hamad Mubarak Al-Hajri

Founder and CEO​, Snoonu & CEO International Markets, Jahez International Company

Arjun Nagarajan

Co-Founder and CEO​, Syook

From Hype to Signal: Doha Tech Angel’s Spotlight on Venture Capital Today

Pavilion #E515
Tuesday 3 Feb | 1:15 - 2:00 PM
Speakers
Omar Darwazah

General Partner & CFO AAF Management Ltd.

 Aly El Shalakany

Venture Partner, Acasia Ventures

 Ambar Amleh

Founder & Managing Partner, Ibtikar Fund

Beau Seil

Managing Director, Stealth, and Kauffman Fellow

Alchemist Doha Startup Showcase

Pavilion #E515
Tuesday 3 Feb | 2:00 - 2:45 PM
Speakers
Majed Lababidi

Director of Ecosystem Integration, Alchemist Doha

Launching New Programs & Opportunities for Scientists and Founders

Pavilion #E515
Tuesday 3 Feb | 2:45 - 3:30 PM
Speakers
Malik Habayeb

International Program Expert, QRDI Council

 Aysha Al Mudakha

Senior Program Director, QRDI Council

 Dr. Mohammed Al Housini

Director of Research and Advocacy, QRDI Council

Thorsten Lambertus

Managing Director, Institute for Deep Tech Innovation (DEEP)

Industrial Policy for Green Economic Diversification in Qatar and the Gulf Region

Pavilion #E515
Wednesday 4 Feb | 9:00 - 9:45 AM
Speakers
Sylvie Maalouf

Programs Manager, Qatar Foundation

Fernando Santiago

Industrial Policy Officer UNIDO

Dr. Muez Ali,

Research and Policy Lead, Earthna, Qatar Foundation

Dr. Basel Shadid,

General Manager of Manufacturing Hub, QDB

 Dr. Mohammed Al Housini

Director of Research and Advocacy, QRDI Council

From Lab to Startup: Commercializing Academic Innovation

Pavilion #E515
Wednesday 4 Feb | 9:45 - 10:30 AM
Speakers
Aysha Al Madahka

Senior Director QRDI Council

Dr. Nadir Yildirim

Executive Director, Innovation Office, HBKU

Dr. Oliver Pabst

General Partner, Redalpine

Sustainability and Digitalization: Opportunity to Create New Business Models

Pavilion #E515
Wednesday 4 Feb | 10:30 - 11:00 AM
Speakers
Utkarsh Kulkshetra

Vice President Milaha

Dr. Rafah Alarrouqi

Technical Affairs & Innovation Manager,Mousalat

Varun Rikhi

Business Development Manager Shell Ventures

Innolight & InnoCompass: Your Gateway to Innovation

Pavilion #E515
Wednesday 4 Feb | 11:15 - 11:45 AM
Speakers
Haytham Ali

Director of Collaboration Platforms, QRDI Council

Dr. Alwala Yousif

Monitoring, Evaluation and Learning Director, QRDI Council

Life Sciences and BioPharma Cluster: Powering the Health Innovation Engine in Qatar

Pavilion #E515
Wednesday 4 Feb | 11:45 - 12:30 PM
Speakers
Dr. Sara Abdulla

Senior Research Program Manager QRDI Council

Khalid Fakhroo

Chief Research Officer, Sidra Hospital

Dr. Emmanouil Dermitzakis

President QPHI, QF

Juergen Eckhardt

Global Head of Business Development and Licensing Bayer Pharma

Dr. Mussaad M. Al-Razouki

Operating Partner, Deerfield

Rethinking Technology Deployment: Emerging Adoption Models from the LLE Perspective

Pavilion #E515
Wednesday 4 Feb | 12:30 PM - 1:00 PM
Speakers
Neil Reid

MENA Lead Creative Dock Group

Jason Loh

CEO Piecefuture

Prof. Guido Pieles

MD. Ph.D.Head of Sports Cardiology & Screening Aspetar

From Sweden to Doha: Startup Pitching Session

Pavilion #E515
Wednesday 4 Feb | 1:15 PM - 2:15 PM
Speakers
Sasan Shaba

Title of Person, SISP

Malik Habayeb

International Program Expert, QRDI Council

HE Gautam Bhattachayya

Ambassador Sweden to Qatar

Shaikha AlRomaihi

Head of VC investments, QDB

Tarik Sultan

Partner, Builders VC

Alexander Wiedmer

Partner, Rasmal Ventures

Muhannad Taslaq

Director of Investments, Alchemist Accelerator

Michael Lints

Partner, Golden Gate Ventures

From Learning to Livelihoods: How EdTech Is Rewiring Skills, Jobs, and Economic Mobility

Pavilion #E515
Wednesday 4 Feb | 2:15 PM - 2:45 PM
Speakers
Dr. Azza Abdelmoneium

Moderator - QRDI Council

Khalid W. Abu Kassem

Co Founder & CEO, AlGooru

Talal Alfghani

CEO and Co-founder, SkillUp MENA

Carmina Bayombong

Co Founder & CEO, InvestEd

Danny Suárez

Co Founder & CEO, Xertify (Global / Latin America)

Scaling Inclusive EdTech: Reaching Learners Where Traditional Systems Fall Short

Pavilion #E515
Wednesday 4 Feb | 2:45 PM - 3:15 PM
Speakers
Dr Omar Abdelsattar

Senior research program specialist, QRDI Council

Erik Sibille Habitzel

Co Founder & CEO of MUSA (Latin America & Africa)

Mumbe Mwangi

Co Founder & CEO of Nyansapo AI (Africa – Kenya)

Leandro Finol

Founder & CEO of Wonderly (Global)

Muhammad Gawish

Co-Founder and Executive Board Member of iSchool Holdings

Rising Innovators Award

Pavilion #E515
Wednesday 4 Feb | 3:15 - 4:30 PM
Speakers
Omar Bazian

Research Program Director, QRDI Council

Oliver Graham

Studio Director and Cheif Product Officer, Utopia capital

Dr Hishanm Alasad

Manager of Innovation Enabelment, Qatar Airways

Shaikha AlRomaihi

Head of VC investments, QDB Services Sector, QFC

Ghadir Maghoub

Director of Investments, Alchemist Doha