Students
Connect learning with your next step.
Develop an entrepreneurial idea, sharpen a value proposition, frame a research question, or discuss academic direction.
Discuss your goal ↗DR. BILAL MIRZA / ENTREPRENEURSHIP & AI
Build smarter.
Grow with clarity.
Validating an idea? Rethinking your business model? Exploring AI? I help entrepreneurs connect evidence with action and make clearer decisions about what comes next.
Routledge · Forthcoming 2027AI for Entrepreneurship and Innovation ↗
My book
AI for Entrepreneurship and Innovation
Startup Ecosystems in Growth Markets
AI opens possibilities. People, capabilities, and institutions help turn them into progress. Explore the book’s themes, reader benefits, and pre-order options.
Discover the bookBILAL MIRZAAI FORENTREPRENEURSHIPAND INNOVATION
Startup Ecosystems in Growth Markets
↗TYPOGRAPHIC CONCEPTHOW I CAN HELP
Different goals. A clearer next move.
Entrepreneurs
Strengthen the decisions behind your venture.
Review business models, customer assumptions, growth constraints, and useful opportunities for AI and innovation.
Discuss your goal ↗Researchers
Build a stronger research contribution.
Discuss questions, conceptual framing, design, evidence, and the relationship between findings and contribution.
Discuss your goal ↗International organizations
Connect evidence with local realities.
Scope ecosystem research, innovation policy discussions, capacity building, and institutional advisory projects.
Discuss your goal ↗About
A researcher’s curiosity. An entrepreneur’s perspective.
I am Professor of Entrepreneurship at Tecnológico de Monterrey’s Mexico City campus. My work connects entrepreneurship, innovation, technology, and development.
Across academic appointments in Mexico and Pakistan, I have combined teaching and research with department leadership, graduate supervision, and research commercialization. My education brings together business administration, technology management, and innovation studies.
I also founded Startup Academy in 🇵🇰 Pakistan and Germinox in the 🇬🇧 United Kingdom. Building organizations adds a practical perspective to my research, teaching, and advisory conversations.
University profile ↗BEYOND THE CLASSROOM
Curiosity doesn’t stop at work.
I’m a great fan of history and culture. I love meeting people, discovering food, traveling, and reading books—different ways to keep learning and see the world from fresh perspectives.
EDUCATION
Different disciplines. A connected perspective.
PhD in Innovation Studies and Development
Maastricht University / UNU-MERIT
🇳🇱 The Netherlands
Doctoral research on energy poverty and rural energy markets. UNU-MERIT doctoral researcher, 2006–2010, supported by a United Nations University fellowship.
Master’s in Management of Technology
École polytechnique fédérale de Lausanne (EPFL)
🇨🇭 Switzerland
Connecting technology with business, entrepreneurship, and innovation management.
Exchange studies · Global Strategic Management
Copenhagen Business School
🇩🇰 Denmark
Exchange-student experience in Copenhagen, with study in Global Strategic Management and an international business perspective.
Master of Business Administration
University of Arid Agriculture, Rawalpindi
🇵🇰 Pakistan
A foundation in management, strategy, and organizational decision-making.
Selected professional development
- AI & entrepreneurship education (2025), in collaboration with Babson College, 🇺🇸 USA, and Tecnológico de Monterrey, 🇲🇽 Mexico.
- Innovation policy design and evaluation at UNU-MERIT (2005); STI policy and management training at ISTIC under UNESCO, Malaysia (2015).
- Training in R, data preparation, and marketing analytics (2022), with earlier study of strategic alliances at EPFL (2003).
Experience
From the classroom to the ecosystem.
2024–present
🇲🇽 Mexico
🇲🇽 Mexico
Professor of Entrepreneurship
Tecnológico de Monterrey · Mexico City CampusTeaching, research, and case development in entrepreneurship and innovation.
2022–2024
🇵🇰 Pakistan
🇵🇰 Pakistan
Professor of Practice & Head of Department
Pak-Austria FachhochschuleSchool of Business and Professional Development; academic leadership and practice-oriented education.
2018–2022
🇵🇰 Pakistan
🇵🇰 Pakistan
Associate Professor & Head of Department
Iqra University, IslamabadBusiness Administration; department leadership, teaching, research, and graduate supervision.
2015–2018
🇵🇰 Pakistan
🇵🇰 Pakistan
Head of Entrepreneurship & Innovation
University of Central PunjabAlso Director of Research, Innovation, and Commercialization (ORIC), 2016–2018.
2013–2015
🇵🇰 Pakistan
🇵🇰 Pakistan
Assistant Professor · Centre for Policy Studies
COMSATS Institute of Information TechnologyResearch and teaching at the intersection of policy, innovation, and development.
2011–2012
🇵🇰 Pakistan
🇵🇰 Pakistan
Research Associate (Senior Lecturer)
Ghulam Ishaq Khan InstituteResearch and teaching in technology and development.
2006–2010
🇳🇱 The Netherlands
🇳🇱 The Netherlands
PhD Researcher
United Nations University–MERITDoctoral research on rural energy access and energy poverty.
2004–2006
🇵🇰 Pakistan
🇵🇰 Pakistan
Lecturer · Technology Management
International Islamic University, IslamabadTeaching technology management and related business subjects.
Founder and CEO: Startup Academy, 🇵🇰 Pakistan (2019–present), and Germinox Ltd., 🇬🇧 United Kingdom (2022–present). My academic service includes doctoral and master’s supervision, external examination, and journal reviewing.
Research
Technology changes. The questions get bigger.
AI & entrepreneurial possibility
How successive digital technologies shape opportunities, and why access alone does not determine their benefits.
Learning & digital enterprise
Entrepreneurial learning, women’s digital entrepreneurship, and the resources founders need to act.
Ecosystems & innovation
University–industry linkages, business incubation, alliance learning, leadership, and innovative performance.
Inclusion & development
Energy access, rural energy markets, and the institutional conditions shaping technology adoption.
TEACHING & LEARNING
Learning by building what’s next.
CURRENT COURSES · 🇲🇽 MEXICO
- Entrepreneurship, Leadership and Innovation
- Business Innovation Project
- Innovation with Market Focus
My teaching connects entrepreneurship and innovation with practical experimentation, including AI-assisted app development and student testing. Published teaching cases include Jüsto’s growth dilemma (SAGE, 2025) and Sustainology’s balance of profit and purpose (Emerald, 2025).
SPEAKING & CAPACITY BUILDING
Ideas worth sharing. Capabilities worth building.
- 🇧🇭 Bahrain Polytechnic (2026): invited talk on AI tools in academic research.
- 🇺🇸 North Carolina Central University (2025): entrepreneurial thinking in the curriculum.
- 🇵🇰 WAPDA (2022–2024): executive training in leadership, conflict management, time management, and decision-making.
WRITING & IDEAS
Follow my writing on Substack.
Find me as @bilalmirza and follow my writing and updates beyond this website.
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