Skip to content

FEEL: A Disruptive Futures Program

“Dubai is at the forefront of shaping the world’s future. We are dedicated to offering the world a comprehensive blueprint for future design and readiness.”
Hamdan bin Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum

About the Program

Spanning four weeks, this global training program is aligned with Dubai’s strategy to enhance individuals’ readiness to prepare for and lead the future. The program aims to elevate the participants’ intellectual and experiential capacities. It includes keynote speeches by world-renowned global and local visionaries and experts in a wide range of fields, experiences in forefront disruptive innovations, and visits to national tech labs and major innovative organizations.

Who are we looking for?

This program is tailored for the world’s movers and shakers: mid to top-level executives, entrepreneurs bursting with ideas, innovators at the forefront of change, thought leaders shaping the narrative, policymakers crafting our future, government officials driving progress, industry specialists with deep insights, angel investors ready to bet on the next big thing, and venture capitalists fueling groundbreaking ventures.
Please make sure you meet the eligibility criteria before applying to the program.

Mid to top-level executives, entrepreneurs, change-makers, thought leaders, policymakers, investors, industry experts, or venture capitalists

Open to all nationalities

Minimum of 5 years in a leadership role

Fluent in spoken and written English

Ready to commit for the whole duration of the program (4 weeks)

Program Goals

Enhance participants' capabilities with expert lectures, practical applications of future technologies, and impactful advanced projects.

Introduce in-depth future studies focused on sustainable development and longevity.

Reinforce Dubai’s status as a global center for exceptional talent.

Program Objectives

01

This program develops the next generation of visionary leaders where participants will gain cutting edge insights in futures thinking and foresight, leadership, longevity and critical thinking from world renowned experts.

02

Participants will be immersed in hands-on experiences with exclusive field trips to Dubai's innovation hubs and labs.

03

Participants will get exposure to groundbreaking technologies where they will internalize and feel the impact of these advancements.

Immersive Experiences

FEEL the Innovation

Facilitators

Dr. Ant Rowstron

Distinguished Engineer, Microsoft Research - Microsoft Research Ltd

Ant Rowstron is a Distinguished Engineer at Microsoft Research in Cambridge where he leads a team focused on new optical technologies and systems that will underpin the future cloud across networking, storage and compute. During his career, he has worked in many fields and loves learning about new things, most recently robotics.

Ant was awarded the ACM SIGOPS Mark Weiser Award in 2016, the ACM EuroSys Lifetime Achievement Award in 2021. He was elected a Fellow of the Royal Academy of Engineering in 2020 and the British Computer Society in 2010.
Dr. Roy Casagranda

Author and Professor of Government, Austin Community College

Dr. Roy Casagranda is a professor of political science and an author. He has been producing talks for a YouTube channel since 2014. His videos have had worldwide reach with several videos clearing one million views. Dr. Roy is currently working on a historical fiction novel, a TV series, and a Hollywood movie. Dr. Roy’s work centers on unerasing forgotten and deliberately erased histories as well as setting straight the record on faulty narratives.

His political science research focuses on German, ancient, and social contract philosophy as well as the study of leadership and US foreign policy.
Dr. Mohamed Qasem

Dean of the Dubai Future Academy

Dr. Mohamed Qasem is Dean of the Dubai Future Academy. He previously worked in the Electronics department at the College of Technological Studies (CTS) at the Public Authority for Applied Education and Training (PAAET). He specialises in Artificial Neural Networks and Deep Learning, and his expertise are in optimization and data compression. He also worked as a consultant to the Kuwait Foundation for Advancement of Sciences (KFAS) advancing science communications. He currently serves as a member of the board of directors for the Digital School in the United Arab Emirates. He was selected by Nature Middle East as one of six science communicators to follow. He communicates science through his public lectures delivered around the world, TV programs, the Sciware podcast and his social media accounts.
Justin Hughes

Managing Director, Mission Excellence

Justin is a biotech entrepreneur and former fighter pilot and Red Arrow. As such, he has first-hand experience of balancing the tension between performance outcomes and safety in a high-risk environment, and the culture, behaviours and processes that are necessary to achieve that. Justin has an MBA from London Business School and an MSt from the University of Cambridge (both Distinctions). For the latter, he planned a thesis on pandemics but thought nobody would be interested (in 2017!), and instead analysed the threat posed by cryptocurrency; he is currently sitting on a return of 1000%; unfortunately he only bought $30.
Dr. Fadel Adib

Associate Professor at MIT; CEO & Co-founder of Cartesian

Fadel Adib, a Lebanese-American professor at MIT and Founder/CEO of Cartesian Systems, has made significant contributions to technology and research. As Founding Director of the MIT Signal Kinetics Lab, he has pioneered advances in sensing technology that have revolutionised the ability to understand the world, in ocean monitoring, medicine, human-computer interaction and robotics. His research has led to the creation of multiple start-ups, including Cartesian Systems, which focuses on mapping the physical world on an unprecedented scale.

Adib has over 80 peer-reviewed papers and patents to his name. He was named one of the world’s top innovators under 35 by Technology Review in 2014, recognised as an ACM SIGMOBILE Rockstar in 2023, and named as a Young Global Leader by the World Economic Forum in 2024. He is also the recipient of the 2024 Great Arab Minds Award (referred to as the ‘Nobel Prize of the Arab World’) from His Highness Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum. His research has been featured worldwide and he has presented his work to notable figures such as President Barack Obama at the White House.
Dr. Heba Chehade

Foresight Lead, Dubai Future Foundation

Dr. Heba Chehade is a Foresight Lead at the Dubai Future Foundation, where she uses research and innovation to explore, develop and unpack globally relevant futures for growth, prosperity, and well-being. Heba also makes policy recommendations that focus on future possibilities, grounded in comprehensive research and multidisciplinary narratives.

In her role at the Dubai Future Foundation, Heba identifies and analyses signals that shape future opportunities across various sectors, including the economy, engineering, environment, government, health, manufacturing, social sciences, and technology.

Besides leading and advising on related strategic projects, programmes and initiatives, her research interests include the nexus of innovation, business and society.
Rayan Masoudi

Founder and CEO - neooverse, neooAI, and Little Python

An innovator with over a decade of experience, he handles the complete product development process -from hardware design to software integration- using emerging technologies to deliver innovative products and solutions across various industries. He developed and launched a large number of transformative projects, which include neooverse, neooAi and Little Python.
Dr. Nicholas Tiller

Research Associate in Exercise Physiology, The Lundquist Institute at Harbor-UCLA Medical Center

Dr. Nick Tiller is an exercise scientist, science writer, and author of The Skeptic’s Guide to Sports Science, which was named one of Book Authority’s “Best Sports Science Books of all Time.” After working as a physiologist on the British Olympic programme, Tiller was awarded tenure as an associate professor in the United Kingdom before moving to the United States and shifting his focus to research and writing. He is a columnist at Skeptical Inquirer magazine, a columnist at Ultra-Running Magazine, and associate editor of the International Journal of Sports Nutrition. In 2023, Tiller was elected as a Fellow of the Committee for Skeptical Inquiry for his ongoing work in science communication and critical thinking education.
Dr. Steven Novella

Associate Professor of Clinical Neurology, Yale University SGU Productions, LLC

Dr. Steven Novella has been active in scientific skepticism since founding the New England Skeptical Society in 1996. He is an internationally recognized science communicator who has spent years investigating paranormal claims and conspiracy theories and exposing pseudoscience. He hosts the award-winning science podcast, The Skeptics’ Guide to the Universe, which tackles science news and controversies in an engaging and entertaining format. He authors the award-winning Neuro- Logica blog, which covers neuroscience, general science, scientific skepticism, critical thinking, and the intersection of science with the media. He is the founding and senior editor and regular contributor to Science-Based Medicine, an influential medical blog dedicated to issues of science and medicine. He is the author of three books: The Skeptics’ Guide to the Universe about critical thinking and science, The Skeptics’ Guide to the Future about futurism and technology, and the audiobook The Skeptics’ Guide to Alternative Medicine. He has produced two video courses for The Teaching Company, including Medical Myths and Your Deceptive Mind.
Dr. Hassan Fahad Albalawi

CEO, WakeCap Technologies

Dr. Hassan Albalawi is the co-founder of WakeCap, a leader in smart solutions for construction site management that sets an industry standard for data- powered site visibility. A driven innovator and entrepreneur, Albalawi was born and raised in Tabuk, Saudi Arabia. He received his Ph.D. degrees from Duke University. During his Ph.D. studies, he developed machine-learning algorithms for use in ultra-low-power devices. This groundbreaking work inspired him to create an embedded wearable solution for use in safety helmets, leading to the founding of WakeCap in 2017. Today, Albalawi presides over a company that employs 100 people across three countries (Saudi Arabia, United Arab Emirates, and USA) and has connected over 100,000 workers to date. WakeCap was founded on Albalawi’s deeply held conviction that transparency and visibility benefit everyone, from project owners to managers, consultants, and site workers. Overseeing a company that works today with some of the biggest names in international construction, Albalawi remains committed to his vision of putting workers first and encouraging a culture of transparency, collaboration and accountability. “Through WakeCap’s technology, we are committed to making a positive contribution to our customers.
Dr. Danielle Belardo

Preventive Cardiologist, Founder of Precision Preventive Cardiology

Dr. Danielle Belardo, MD is a preventive cardiologist in Los Angeles, California, with a focus on the intersection of cardiovascular disease prevention, cardiometabolic health, obesity and nutrition. She is the founder of Precision Preventive Cardiology, where Dr. Belardo leads her multidisciplinary team in delivering state-of-the-art, comprehensive evidence-based medical and nutritional care to patients across the United States. Her research, characterized by several influential peer-reviewed publications, has significantly contributed to understanding how dietary choices impact heart health. Serving as the chair of the American Society for Preventive Cardiology Nutrition Committee, Dr. Belardo was the lead author of the ASPC 2022 Clinical Practice Statement on Nutrition and Cardiovascular Disease Prevention. She is notable for her contributions to promoting accurate scientific communication on social media, focusing on both evidence-based medicine and nutrition science.
Dr. Michael Shermer

Publisher, Skeptic Magazine

Michael Shermer is the publisher of Skeptic magazine, the host of the Michael Shermer Show, and the author of numerous New York Times bestselling book, including Why People Believe Weird Things, The Believing Brain, The Moral Arc, and Conspiracy.
Dr. Ebtesam AlMazrouei

CEO and Founder of AIE3, Chairperson of UN AI for Good Impact Initiative, Expert AI Executive & Tech Visionary Leader, Top 100 global leaders in AI by H2O.ai’s inaugural AI 100 list.

Dr. Ebtesam Almazrouei is a pioneering leader in artificial intelligence (AI)and advanced technology, renowned for her transformative leadership and innovative achievements. As the CEO and Founder of AIE3, she delivers cutting-edge AI solutions and capacity-building programmes across various industries. Her exceptional contributions have earned her a prominent place on H2O.ai’s AI 100 list, recognizing her as a leading global figure in AI. She has also received notable honors, including the Leading AI Women in the World recognition, the Global Leadership Women in Tech® MENA Award, and a spot among the Top 100 Global Tech Speakers. Dr.Almazrouei serves as Chairperson of the UN AI for Good Impact Initiative and as a Senior AI Consultant for the International Telecommunication Union (ITU), where she plays a critical role in shaping global AI policies and frameworks. Additionally, she holds prominent board positions in various international organisations. Previously, as Executive Director, Acting Chief AI Researcher, and Founder of the AI Cross Center at the Technology Innovation Institute, she led the development of groundbreaking generative AI models such as Falcon 40B, Falcon 180B,and NOOR.

With over 14 years of experience in artificial intelligence, Smart cities, and digital telecom, Dr. Almazrouei has made significant contributions by leading cutting-edge projects and initiatives that have advanced technological capabilities worldwide. Dr. Almazrouei has been invited to major global forums, including the closed sessions of the first AI safety summit in the UK and the inaugural UN Governance Day in 2024. She is also the first Emirati woman to earn a Ph.D. in Artificial Intelligence for Wireless Communication Engineering and Computer Science. Dr.Ebtesam Almazrouei plays a key role in shaping AI strategies and frameworks and building international collaborations on a global scale. Her vision is to leverage AI to address global challenges and drive meaningful societal impact.
Adam Kahane

Director, Reos Partners

Adam Kahane is a Director of Reos Partners, an international social enterprise that helps people move forward together on their most important and intractable issues.

Adam is a leading organizer, designer and facilitator of processes through which business, government, and civil society leaders can work together to address such challenges. He has worked in more than fifty countries, in every part of the world, with executives and politicians, generals and guerrillas, civil servants and trade unionists, community activists and United Nations officials, clergy and artists.

Adam is the author of Solving Tough Problems, about which Nelson Mandela said: “This breakthrough book addresses the central challenge of our time: finding a way to work together to solve the problems we have created.” He is also the author of Power and Love, Transformative Scenario Planning, Collaborating with the Enemy, Facilitating Breakthrough, and Everyday Habits for Transforming Systems.

Adam is a Member of the Order of Canada. In 2022 he was named a Schwab Foundation Social Innovation Thought Leader of the Year at the World Economic Forum in Davos.
Josefine Lissner

Managing Director, LEAP 71

Josefine Lissner is a leading pioneer in Computational Engineering. She is the co-founder of LEAP 71, a Dubai-based company that uses computational AI models to engineer advanced physical objects and entire machines. In June 2024, LEAP 71 successfully hot-fired a rocket engine designed using Ms. Lissner’s computational model. The 20,000 hp thruster was powered by cryogenic liquid oxygen and kerosene. It is both the UAE’s first liquid propellant rocket engine and the world’s first engine designed without human intervention through a computational AI system.

Before starting her current venture in 2023, she was the Strategic Engineering Lead at German 3D-printing startup Hyperganic. She has a Master’s Degree in Aerospace, Aeronautical and Astronautical/ Space Engineering from the University of Stuttgart, Germany. From 2017 to 2018, as part of the Mercedes-AMG Petronas Formula One Team, she contributed to the aerodynamic design of Lewis Hamilton’s championship-winning car. In 2018, she joined the newly founded Formula E Team at Porsche Motorsports.

Ms. Lissner is an avid runner, winning the 110km Hadrian’s Wall Ultramarathon in 2018. She and her partner, LEAP 71 co-founder Lin Kayser, live in Dubai.
Lin Kayser

Co-founder, LEAP 71

Lin Kayser is a serial entrepreneur and co-founder of LEAP 71, a Dubai-based company using computational AI models to engineer advanced physical objects and entire machines. His career spans three decades of building high-tech ventures. In 1994 he joined ARADEX, a pioneering startup that was the first to utilize off-theshelf PC technology to drive large industrial manufacturing machines.

In 2000, he founded IRIDAS, a company that invented video processing technology for Hollywood’s emerging digital movie industry. IRIDAS powered the world’s first digital cinema to create The Matrix movies in 2002. A year later, the company was the first to adopt GPUs for high-speed image processing, years before others followed. Adobe acquired IRIDAS in 2011.

Mr. Kayser continued his entrepreneurial journey by founding the German 3D-printing software startup Hyperganic in 2014. In 2023, he co-founded LEAP 71 with Josefine Lissner. As a self-taught software engineer, Mr. Kayser has been coding since childhood. He developed PicoGK (“peacock”), the foundational software stack for LEAP 71, which the company open-sourced in October last year. Mr. Kayser and Ms. Lissner live in Dubai.
Prof. Sohail Inayatullah

UNESCO Chair in Futures Studies, IIUM - Tamkang University, Metafuture.Org, IIUM

Professor Sohail Inayatullah is the UNESCO Chair in Futures Studies at Sejahtera Centre for Sustainability and Humanity, IIUM. He is a political scientist/futurist at Tamkang University, Taipei and an Associate at Melbourne Business School, the University of Melbourne. In 2021, he was Futurist-in-Residence (virtual) for the Government of Abu Dhabi. From 2011- 2014 he was an Adjunct Professor at the Centre for Policing, Counterterrorism, and Intelligence, Macquarie University, Sydney. In 1999, he was the UNESCO Chair in European Studies at the University of Trier, Germany. He is listed in the top 2 percent of the world’s scientists as measured by the highest impact of citations.

Inayatullah has authored and co-edited twenty-eight books, including: Understanding Sarkar (2002), CLA 3.0: Thirty Years of Transformative Research (2022); From Anticipation to Emancipation (2022); The End of the Cow and other Emerging issues (2022); Futures Thinking in Asia and the Pacific (2020) and What Works: Case Studies in the Practice of Foresight (2015).
Dr. Ivana Milojevic

Director, Metafuture.org and Metafutureschool.org

Dr. Ivana Milojević is Senior Lecturer at the Edinburgh Futures Institute, Edinburgh, Scotland. She is the Co-Founder and Director of Metafuture – an Australian based globally oriented foresight thinktank focused on the practical use of futures tools and methods through action learning approaches. In that capacity, she has delivered speeches and facilitated workshops for governmental and academic institutions, international associations, and non-governmental organizations around the world.

Dr. Ivana Milojević is Senior Lecturer at the Edinburgh Futures Institute, Edinburgh, Scotland. She is the Co-Founder and Director of Metafuture – an Australian based globally oriented foresight thinktank focused on the practical use of futures tools and methods through action learning approaches. In that capacity, she has delivered speeches and facilitated workshops for governmental and academic institutions, international associations, and non-governmental organizations around the world.

She is the author of the Heroine’s Journey book series which includes, The Gold Maker, The Peace Maker and the Future Maker. Her academic books include CLA 3.0, The End of the Cow and other emerging issues, and Breathing.
Dr. Ivan Spasojevic

Research Professor, University of Belgrade – Institute for Multidisciplinary Research Liquid3

Dr. Ivan Spasojević is a biophysicist, Research Professor, and a PI at the University of Belgrade with over 20 years of experience and more than 80 scientific papers. He is a well-established expert in redox chemistry and has led several large projects addressing microalgae-based biotech, including LIQUID3. Ivan understands technology transfer, patent drafting, commercialization routes development, and IP protection, and has extensive experience in media presentation and effective communication and has a wide network in academia, the microalgae industry, and media.
Dr. Waleed Al Ali

Secretary General and board member, The Digital School

Dr. Waleed Al Ali – is the Secretary General and board member for The Digital School Initiative, He also holds responsibilities in a number of leading initiatives in Dubai including senior advisor at Mohammed Bin Rashid Global Initiatives (MBRGI), the general coordinator for Madrasa.org e-learning initiative and the coordinator for Dubai Future Council for Humanitarian Aid. Dr.Waleed has extensive experience in the areas of strategic planning, educational strategies, digital transformation, and social & development innovation. Dr. Waleed has worked with leading private and public organisations in UAE including Dubai Holding, UAE Ministry of Cabinet Affairs, Mohammed Bin Rashid’s Smart Learning programme. Dr.Waleed holds PhD in Project and Innovation Management, Master’s degree in IT Management and Bachelor’s degree in Information Security.
Prof. Paul Saffo

Silicon Valley-based forecaster and Principal of Saffo Advisors

Paul is a Silicon Valley-based forecaster who studies the dynamics of large-scale, long-term technological change, and advises corporate, NGO and governmental clients worldwide. Paul has taught foresight in Stanford’s Engineering School for the last two decades in his capacity as an Adjunct Professor, and recently served as a Visiting Fellow at the Australian War College. He is a non-resident Senior Fellow at the Atlantic Council, and a Fellow of the Royal Swedish Academy of Engineering Sciences. Paul was the founding Chair of Future Studies at Singularity University. He also was the founding Chair of the Samsung Science Board, and has served on the technology advisory boards of AT&T and Motorola, as well as the boards of a range of public and private companies. Paul holds degrees from Harvard College, Cambridge University, and Stanford University.
Alex Aliper

Co-Founder and President of Insilico Medicine

Alex Aliper, PhD, is the President of Insilico Medicine. He pioneered the application of AI in multi-omics data for drug discovery and drug repurposing, generative chemistry and generative biology and put an AI-designed drug into human clinical trials. Alex Aliper built a team of over 100 AI engineers that developed state-of-the-art software products for target discovery, small molecule generation and clinical trial outcome prediction. He was recognised as “Top 100 AI Leaders in Drug Discovery and Advanced Healthcare” by Deep Knowledge Analytics. In 2020 Endpoint News selected Alex Aliper as the top 20 under 40 biotechnology executives globally.

Application stages

The program’s selection process aims to embrace diversity in perspectives and backgrounds, recognizing that the richest learning comes from converging different ideas and experiences. This is where the magic happens—where a melting pot of visions and expertise sets the stage for unparalleled success and innovation.
Our selection journey is thorough and comprehensive. It is designed to ensure that every participant is both a contributor and a beneficiary of the rich learning ecosystem we’ve curated. Here’s how it unfolds:

01

Apply for the Program

Kickstart your adventure by throwing your hat in the ring. Show us what makes you tick and why you’re ready to take this leap.

02

Profile assessment and Interview

Next, we dive into your details through background checks, assessments and interviews. We come to know you beyond the paper. We will understand your passions, achievements, and how you envision your future.

03

Onboarding

Once you’ve cleared the previous steps, you’re officially part of the family. At this stage, you sign an NDA and an agreement to commit to the program. Our onboarding process is your bridge into this exciting new world, setting you up for success from day one.

Application Deadline

5 September 2024

Program Start Date

22 October 2024