Upgrade program extends the date of registration

MUSCAT: The registration for the 5th edition of the Upgrade program, a program that transforms the best graduation projects in the 4th Industrial Revolution technologies into successful ICT startups to bring socio-economic benefit to Oman, has extended to August 5, 2021.

Upgrade is a competition-based program in which the winners will be assisted to transform their graduation projects into startups in the Information and Communication Technology (ICT) sector on topics such as Smart Cities, Internet of Things, Information Security, Artificial Intelligence, Big Data and Blockchain.

The registration for the program has opened on May 23 and will end on August 5. The participating projects will then be sorted and filtered by a jury consisting of the program partners through three stages of evaluation to choose the best three winning projects. The process of incubating and developing the winning projects will start after choosing the three winning projects. The winning teams will be provided with incubation services, business and marketing consultation, networking and mentoring opportunities, as well as educational awareness programs that include a group of workshops and lectures in various universities and colleges in the Sultanate.

Upgrade is a collaborative partnership between the Ministry of Higher Education, Research and Innovation, which is concerned with management and regulation, Omantel, which is concerned with seed funding and program financing, Oman Technology Fund (OTF), which is concerned with training and investment preparations, the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Youth, which is concerned with professional and leadership development, Sas Center for Entrepreneurship of the Ministry of Technology and Communications, which is concerned with the incubation services, and the Authority for SME Development, which is concerned with providing commercial, financial and marketing guidance to the winning teams.

Upgrade program has previously succeeded during the previous years in transforming twelve student graduation projects into startups, providing opportunities for self-employment with continued financial support and commercial and marketing guidance that will benefit the winners of the program. The program was highly valued by those interested in graduation projects, especially those who seek to establish their own companies, as the program opened the doors for them to achieve their goals and turn their projects into reality.