TEDxCUQ Ulster University – Built by Choice

About TEDxCUQ Ulster University

TEDxCUQ Ulster University was an independently organised TEDx event hosted at City University Qatar in Lusail. From the heart of Qatar’s innovation ecosystem, it brought together founders, innovators, technologists, healthcare leaders, creatives, and entrepreneurs from across Qatar and beyond to share ideas worth spreading.

The event created a space for our students, alumni, faculty, and partners to reflect on responsibility, intention, and leadership in a rapidly changing world. Through thought-provoking talks and conversations, TEDxCUQ connected global ideas with local impact.

This independent TEDx event was operated under licence from TED.

Event Details

Event details:

Theme: Built by Choice
Date: 4 February 2026
Time: 5:00 pm – 7:30 pm
Location: City University Qatar, Lusail

Event Theme: Built by Choice

Built by Choice reflected on responsibility, intention, and leadership in a world shaped by rapid technological, social, and cultural transformation. Every system we create, every platform we build, and every innovation we introduce is the result of deliberate choices that carry long-term impact.

This TEDxCUQ event examined how purposeful decision-making shapes progress. Our speakers challenged assumptions around technology, ethics, creativity, and human-centred design, offering real-world perspectives on what it truly means to build for the future.

From artificial intelligence and digital platforms to healthcare innovation, creative industries, and cultural influence, Built by Choice highlighted the moments where intention matters most. It explored how values, responsibility, and vision guide the choices that define societies, industries, and lives.

At TEDxCUQ, we explored progress not as something that simply happens, but as something we consciously design.

Speakers

TEDxCUQ brought together founders, innovators, technologists, healthcare leaders, creatives, and entrepreneurs from across Qatar and beyond. Each speaker shared a powerful idea under the theme Built by Choice, exploring how intention and responsibility shape the futures we build.

Amr Metwally

Healthcare Innovation Strategist

Amr’s talk explored a simple truth: we don’t rise to vision, we fall to our choices, especially when leading change that feels uncomfortable.

Dr Bushra Shammout

Investor and Senior Advisor at Transform VC

Bushra’s talk explored how leaders can make deliberate, values-led choices in high-pressure environments, drawing on reflections from Doha and her experience across deep-tech investing, public policy, and national security.

Homara Choudhary

Presenter & UN Moderator

Homara Media LLC

Homara’s talk explored how the story you repeat becomes the life you lead, and how small daily choices shape values-led leadership, clarity, and purpose under pressure.

Ibrahim Baker

Co-Founder

Manjam Capital

Ibrahim’s talk explored what happens when values lead the way, and how values-driven choices can reshape leadership, decision-making under pressure, and the human impact of change in finance and technology.

Nour Al Hassan

CEO

Tarjama

Nour’s talk explored human-centred innovation in the AI era, and how choosing people-first values over trends shapes responsible AI, purposeful pivots, and sustainable growth with real impact across MENA.

Katina Aghayan

CEO

Kingdom Konsult

Katina’s talk explored sustainability and the circular economy, and how deliberate choices can help organisations build practical, end-to-end strategies that drive a low-carbon transition and long-term, measurable impact.