A focus group entitled: “Identification of Hi-Tech Trends to Direct Young People and Researchers in the Development of Entrepreneurial Businesses” was held as part of the Technovate program’s activities. These activities aim at utilizing new trends of technology to solve challenges that companies face and turn the solutions into start-ups.

To put into practice, the iPark.Land and 10X project teams have taken a number of steps; the first of which was researching and analyzing the latest trends in international reports and journal articles. After choosing the 15 trends that represent the top 2020 start-up trends, a small questionnaire was developed regarding topics such as how much these trends are trending, how relevant they are to our local market, etc. and then sent to business consultants, academics, and researchers who will later be the main participants in the held focus group. The purpose of this group was to discuss the findings of the questionnaire in-depth and expand on further steps that will help create a more sustainable and research-based selection and incubation of start-ups.

The findings of the questionnaire were introduced and discussed at the beginning of the focus group, and then the following issues were discussed:

• What is the form and nature of the interventions that the incubator can undertake in these areas (trends)?
• How can youth and researchers be directed to produce ideas in these areas?
• What are the most important opportunities and challenges for promoting entrepreneurial ideas in these areas?
• What are the necessary steps to promote entrepreneurial ideas in these areas?