MBZUAI’s Launch Lab equips alumni and students with practical startup tools

Turning an idea into a viable startup is rarely straightforward, requiring not only technical skill but clarity of purpose, real-world validation, and the confidence to take it from the concept stage to a living, breathing business.  

With this challenge in mind, MBZUAI recently concluded its inaugural Launch Lab – a six-week pilot program designed to help alumni and students take their earliest startup ideas and turn them into tangible, testable ventures. 

Developed and delivered by the University’s Alumni Relations team, Launch Lab reflects MBZUAI’s growing commitment to entrepreneurship as a natural extension of AI research and innovation. The pilot was created to equip participants with practical tools, structured frameworks, and an entrepreneurial mindset – bridging the gap between academic excellence and real-world impact. 

A hands-on approach 

Facilitated by experienced entrepreneur Moe Hanafy, the program welcomed a cohort of 15 participants from across MBZUAI’s alumni and student community. Hosted at the University’s Masdar City campus, the series of 90-minute, in-person sessions allowed the group to work directly on their startup ideas, receiving individual feedback along the way. 

The program’s curriculum followed the natural lifecycle of a startup – starting by refining the ideas and validating the problems they wanted to solve, before moving into business model design, branding and value proposition development, and go-to-market strategy. Later sessions introduced funding considerations and culminated in pitch preparation ahead of a Demo Day. 

With an emphasis on action, participants were expected to test assumptions, iterate quickly, and make visible progress each week – mirroring the pace and pressures of real startup environments. 

“Launch Lab was designed to bridge a very real gap we were seeing among our alumni and students,” said Khadija El Jachi, Acting Head of Alumni Relations.  

“Many individuals had brilliant ideas and strong technical backgrounds, but needed a structured, supportive environment to turn those ideas into something actionable. Our goal was to create a space where alumni and students could learn, iterate, and grow together, and watching them transform early concepts into tangible ventures in just six weeks was truly inspiring.” 

Building businesses and connections 

By deliberately limiting participation in the pilot, Launch Lab was able to provide mentorship, peer learning, and meaningful collaboration. Alumni contributed industry experience and real-world perspective, while students brought fresh ideas and technical depth – facilitating discussion, experimentation, and innovation.

“Launch Lab was exactly what it promised – no fluff, just real momentum,” said Abdulrahman Al Marzooqi, AI product owner at Saal.ai who graduated from MBZUAI in 2025 with a master’s in machine learning. “In six weeks, I went from a rough idea to a clear, validated concept with a solid business model and a working prototype.” 

“It was one of the most useful and informative programs I have attended,” added Faris AlMalik, senior data scientist at TAMM, co-founder of Wazii, and 2023 graduate with a master’s in machine learning.  

“The content of each session was very relevant and useful and helped me personally to tune my idea across the road. The sessions themselves were very engaging and fun, and Moe was very active and responsive. He made sure to give us the proper time to share ideas, critique them, and reflect. 

“I do recommend such a program to be attended by everybody who is willing to start their own business. It provides the knowledge that you will struggle to obtain anywhere else in such a structured way.” 

By the end of the program, most participants had developed a working prototype or minimum viable product (MVP), while several advanced to beta testing or early market entry. Every team completed a structured business concept alongside a polished pitch deck – providing a solid foundation for future development. 

Beyond individual progress, Launch Lab also fostered lasting connections between alumni and students, encouraging mentorship, collaboration, and continued idea exchange beyond the program itself. 

The program concluded with a Demo Day, where all participants pitched their ventures to a judging panel. The event served as both a celebration and a proving ground, showcasing the entrepreneurial potential within the MBZUAI community. 

Two standout teams were selected as winners, receiving awards and benefits designed to support the next phase of their startup journeys, including credits and discounts from AWS, PostHog, Perplexity, and Notion. The winners will also be fast-tracked to MBZUAI’s Build It Demo Days – meaning they will move to the interview stage (stage three) of the selection process – and receive advisory session with the facilitator, plus introductions and networking opportunities to boost their startups’ launches. 

Why Launch Lab matters 

At a wider level, Launch Lab reflects MBZUAI’s broader commitment to what happens after ideas leave the lab or classroom, and to students’ progress and development as they move beyond their academic programs – a core focus for the Alumni Relations team. 

Since MBZUAI’s first commencement ceremony in 2022 – where 52 students graduated from master’s programs in computer vision and machine learning – the University’s alumni community has grown to 318 as of 2025. The Alumni Relations team continues to keep alumni connected to the University and its growing global community through exclusive programs, events, and opportunities that celebrate and encourage academic, entrepreneurial, and industry excellence – while also giving students a strong foundation to build on when they become graduates themselves. 

Launch Lab serves as a strategic avenue for the Alumni Relations team to expand this kind of support – convening alumni and students around shared challenges and practical goals, and demonstrating how targeted, well-designed programs can support both groups at a critical stage of their professional journey. 

“This program showed us what’s possible when structure, talent, and community come together,” added El Jachi. “We will continue expanding initiatives that empower our alumni and students to lead, innovate, and create real-world change. This is the direction Alumni Relations is committed to moving toward.”