Representatives of the chosen ideas will receive notifications confirming their selection for the program. Confirmation of participation from the selected participants will be required. Additionally, applicants whose projects were not selected will be notified via email.

The process of selecting participants, starting from the receipt of their applications to the announcement of their names is conducted according to the following outlined steps:

Step 1: Registration and Administrative Check of Applications by Ithra

Ithra staff conduct a registration and administrative check to screen the received applications for compliance with Ithra's guidelines and requirements. This includes verifying completeness, submission of samples, and relevance of the proposal’s topic to Ithra's mission. Applications that pass this screening are then forwarded to the jurors via email.

Step 2: Evaluation of the Projects by the Jurors

The applications are forwarded to the jury committee, which assesses the projects based on the evaluation criteria outlined below

Creative Solutions, Ithra’s immersive design residency program, is a one of a kind four-month storytelling and product design residency with a singular focus on utilizing immersive technologies such as augmented reality (AR), virtual reality (VR), mixed reality (MR), immersive audio and haptics.

The residency is split into two parts: the pre-production phase and the production phase. The pre-production phase is a three-week period (tioo he first two weeks taking place in person inside Ithra, and the last week taking place virtually) where residents will be enrolled in masterclasses and workshops that focus on the entrepreneurial, technical and storytelling foundations of XR technologies developed by Ithra’s Idea Lab.

After the three-week period, residents will pitch their refined concept to a panel of judges, wherein up to 5 finalists will be selected to qualify for the production phase. Finalists of the residency are provided with a dedicated mentor, financial support, a project management team and a development team to complete their paper prototypes in time for the final showcase taking place during Ithra’s Creativity Conference, Tanween, in November, with the goal of fostering long term connection, collaboration and future business ventures.

July 14, 2024.

October 31, 2024.

The residency will be conducted in English.

No, the application must be submitted in English, as the residency will be conducted in English in its entirety.

The open call application period is set to start in Feb 14, 2024.

The full duration of the Creative Solutions residency program is 4 months, the pre-production phase of the residency will be in person (2 weeks – In person) and the remainder of the residency will be virtual.

There is no application or program fee.

To apply to the residency, you have to be resident of the MENA region, fluent in English, and 18 years or older.

No, the requirement would be a team of minimum two individuals per application submitted.

You have to submit your application no later than May 21^st, 2024.

Submitting your application before the early bird registration deadline will grant you a free review and consultation of your application by the creative solutions team, securing a higher likelihood of getting accepted into the program.

Yes, but under a different team.

Yes, but during the open call time frame only.

Yes, as lodging and travel are provided as part of the residency.