Case Study Dr Ahmad Abdullrahman

Using the skills and experience he gained from taking part in the YES competition, Dr Ahmad Abdullrahman has altered the direction of his whole professional life and is now able to use his own research to help others and create real impact in the world.

When Ahmad Abdullrahman began his PhD at the University of Reading, he didn’t have a firm idea in mind of what he wanted to do afterwards. While he was intensely interested in his specific research area, the prospect of a long career in academic research didn’t appeal; nor did the traditional alternative of going into a job in commercial laboratory management.

During the second year of his PhD, Ahmad’s supervisor, who had picked up on his lingering indecision, suggested that participating in the YES competition might provide him with a valuable sense of professional direction. “At that stage, I didn’t know anything at all about the world of business,” says Ahmad. “But it sounded really interesting, so I thought, let’s do this!”

Despite his lack of previous business knowledge, Ahmad soon found his feet as part of a team of researchers developing a hypothetical business idea for the YES competition. As he did, he realised that many of his natural strengths were well-aligned with entrepreneurship: “Once I started, it became clear how running a business works – and I realised I enjoyed it!”

For Ahmad, learning about business also meant becoming more familiar with the concepts and terminology used in the commercial world, and gaining an appreciation of the nature and complexity of the business planning process. “In helping you develop knowledge, the YES competition really helps to build confidence,” he says. “It pushes you beyond your comfort zone, but it also teaches you how to relate to different stakeholders; how to ask the right questions and influence the right people to get the information and investment you need.”

Ahmad found that being able to practise these skills in front of real business experts was crucial: “One of the biggest benefits of YES is that it lets you try out what you are learning,” he says. “Not only does it help you to understand what different roles are available within the commercial world, but by putting you in front of actual business people, it makes it real.”

The skills and experience Ahmad gained during the YES competition led him directly into his current role as a fellow on the Innovate UK ICURe programme, a pre-accelerator designed to help researchers explore the commercial application and potential of their research. “Not only did having YES on my CV help during the interview process, but it also meant that I went into ICURe with a strong foundation of knowledge, which gave me a head-start – I definitely felt more prepared compared to the other fellows on the programme,” he says.

In opening Ahmad’s eyes to the career possibilities that existed outside the lab, the YES competition changed his ideas about what he wanted to do with his professional life, and about the potential of his work to have a genuine impact. “Taking part in YES allowed me to appreciate for the first time the real impact of my research,” he says. “It’s not just about getting a paper published – it’s about creating something that could change people’s lives.”