Entrepreneurial Insight Putting theory into practice, wherever possible

Suhaib Aslam, a second-year student in ATLAS, is a very active member of the university. From various entrepreneurial challenges to a personal pursuit which actually involved working with entrepreneurs, and now in other ventures, he has shown quite some drive and insight.

When asked how education played a role in his entrepreneurial aptitude, he was hesitant to attribute it to that. “This easily goes into clichés, ‘entrepreneurship is just about doing’, but they’re right to some extent. It’s very useful if you have some theory, like how a business plan works, the basics of value… They really help in doing entrepreneurship, but it’s really just about thinking. If I can make an analogy to science, you don’t have to know all the physics and math concepts to be a scientist. In essence, science can be boiled down to a way of thinking.”

And that’s how Suhaib sees entrepreneurship. The technical skills taught, they can be learned over a relatively short period of time. He mentions that he’s participated in multiple entrepreneurial competitions, one of which he came first in, in the Twente region, but at a certain point, they’re not as valuable. The mindset of an entrepreneur is something more ephemeral. He talks about some contributing factors, his father being one. However, he recognises that he has only been practising that mindset since he came here. He outlines some possible reasons for that:

“The advantages aren’t tangible but… being in this environment, having these companies very close, it gives you this buzz, a sense of urgency. These people are working on really interesting stuff, I need to be working on really interesting stuff. Another thing is the teachers. They’re so close to you, you really get to talk to them about these ideas that you have. And then there’s freedom. It’s quite abstract, but really, the freedom does enable you to do amazing things. Maybe the freedom isn’t coupled with a lot of formal help, but that’s fine, I can find that. If I can work on doing all of these interesting things, and you’re fine with me doing these things, and in fact, you’re willing to help me? That is great!”

Suhaib is known for being involved in everything. He was unwilling to discuss any current projects, as they’re not fully formed yet, but he did outline his motivations. He’s trying to learn AI. While he could opt to go the traditional routes, books, courses, he has decided to take an entrepreneurial approach; he’s looking at what AI could improve, what value it could add to society. He argues this end goal is much more durable than simply learning for the sake of learning, and I’m inclined to agree.

He’s also been involved with Big Beacon, an organisation dedicated to promoting a more current style of education in engineering. In fact, he was asked by the organisation to found the student wing of the organisation. Again, his mindset seems to provide advantages here.

As Suhaib said, being around people doing cool stuff, it gives you a buzz, a sense of urgency. This buzz isn’t just something you will find in ATLAS, it’s university-wide. However, it does seem a little more concentrated here. Check out our other articles and learn about community, education, entrepreneurship and opportunity, at the University College Twente.

University College Twente offers a unique bachelor’s programme, Technology, Liberal, Arts and Sciences, to top students. Visit the University College Twente website for more information about the college and Technology, Liberal, Arts and Sciences website for more information about the bachelor program. Or visit us during the open day, a student-for-a-day or an insight-day.

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