On Saturday, June 19, 2021, the Center of Continuing Education at Birzeit University opened the training course “Data Analysis for the Success of Startups.” The duration of the training will be 45 training hours, varying between face-to-face meetings and synchronous and asynchronous electronic meetings.
This training program is part of the general program "Data for Fair Development" funded by the Canadian Development Research Center IDRC.
In the opening session Mr. Marwan Tarazi, Director of the Center for Continuing Education, stated, "Acquiring skills related to data analysis has become an urgent necessity in our time for the continuity of companies and their ability to compete, develop, and grow with the digital transformation we live in and which is accelerating day by day."
George Yerousis, director of the Innovation and Entrepreneurship Unit at Birzeit University who led the training course, said that few Palestinian startups use data analysis and processing tools to improve and streamline their operations, despite the fact that using such tools will help them maintain a foothold in the market and expand to new areas. The training course, he added, will present entrepreneurs and business owners with the skills to use data tools to their advantage whether in local, regional, or international markets.
“Despite the lack of awareness in the use of data in our Arab world, especially in Palestine, this course gives entrepreneurs an opportunity to think in a strategic way on how to use data to manage and develop their projects in light of the data which show that a very small percentage of start-up companies that do not exceed 5% succeed and continue. Using data will increase the chance of success and continuity of these companies.” Professor George Yorios
Thirty trainees have joined the program, who have start-up companies or are planning to establish new companies from various Palestinian cities. Mr. Alaa Al-Jitan, Public Relations and Marketing Officer at Al-Jitan Modern Wood Industries Facility, and one of the participants in the training, expressed his happiness to participate in this course, saying: “This training program is of high quality in its field and timing, as the collection, analysis and use of primary data and converting it into information is one of the most important indicators of success in the twenty-first century. We can call it the data revolution, and it is extremely important for all sectors, regardless of their size."
The training course, comprising 45 hours, is part of the center’s “Data for Fair Development” program, which focuses on equipping Palestinians with capabilities in the fields of data processing and artificial intelligence to take part in the fourth industrial revolution and use the tools that it offers to secure a fair and equitable development process in the digital world.
As part of the “Data for Fair Development” program, the Center for Continuing Education has organized several training courses, workshops, and seminars on how Palestinians can keep abreast of, and take part in, the digital revolution and set the country’s national digital development strategy.
The center, as part of this program, has held a series of discussions and seminars that aim to spread awareness and information about the digital world, covering topics such as financial technology, data and health, cybersecurity, and the digital future of Palestine. The center has also launched an intensive digital application training program for students and experts alike in information technology, health, human rights, media, banking and finance, business administration, law, and education.