On the occasion of the winners announcement of the Sultan Qaboos Award for Excellence in eGovernment 2018, the award Ceremony guest of honour Dr. Belgacem Haba, an Algerian researcher and scientist in Microelectronics and the Internet, delivered a talk on start-ups opportunities in emerging technologies on 4 December. The talk took place at Sultan Qaboos University in lecture theatre 1, in the presence of H.E. Dr. Ali bin Saud Al Bimani Vice Chancellor of Sultan Qaboos University and Dr. Salim Bin Sultan AL Ruzaiqi, CEO of ITA.

The event witnessed the attendance of university and college students, IT entrepreneurs and all interested in IT and entrepreneurship. In his inspirational talk, Dr. BelgacemHaba narrated his success journey and the challenges he faced and overcame as well as his experience for the SMEs and entrepreneurs on the available market opportunities in emerging technologies.

He started his talk saying: “Change is the only constant thing in the world”, he then highlighted the reasons for the importance of doing research, and that are to make life better for all the people and to make a return of investment to sustain and maintain the research cycle.

On his advice on start-ups and entrepreneurship, Dr. Haba emphasized the following: 1. Start to think about what problems the society has and solve them; 2. Try not to fall in love with your idea, but listen to others feedback to enhance it; 3. You have to have a marketing person who knows the market and look for success not money; 4. Start-up is a full time commitment not a weekend or afterhours job.

Dr. Belgacem addressed the industrial revolutions history and then focused on the fourth revolution. He defined it as a fusion of the cyber space with physical space. IoT, AI, machine learning, 3D printing, Virtual and augmented reality and other technologies are driving the revolution. Internet of Things is a sensor that senses everything around it and analyzes to give you the decision you need.

Dr. Haba holds 489 U.S. patents, and over 1400 patents and patent applications worldwide. He is listed among the top 100 most prolific inventors worldwide. In 2017 he opened the Haba Institute in Algeria to help young entrepreneurs. Dr. Haba has authored numerous technical publications, and he also participated in many conferences worldwide and was recognized in many occasions. His latest activities include the development of 3D technologies for mobiles and servers alike.