Dubai Economy unveils R&D platform initiative to boost competitiveness

DUBAI / WAM

Dubai Economy has unveiled a platform initiative to facilitate research and development (R&D) collaboration between the different ecosystem operators in the emirate, which is expected to accelerate innovation in Dubai.
It is also aimed at consequently supporting the mission and strategy of Dubai Economy to promote the competitiveness and sustainable growth of the local economy.
Khalid Al Kassim, Assistant Director-General for Economic Affairs at Dubai Economy, said, “Active collaboration provides cooperative R&D organisations with an edge by allowing for greater expertise and shared resources, which ultimately drive innovation and productivity. Creating a digital platform will help in bringing industry and academia together in Dubai, which will increase the competitiveness of the local economy.”
Based on international competitiveness reports, the UAE is ranked highly in the over-all competitiveness ranking (2018) of the International Institute for Management Development, but there is room for improvement, particularly in the R&D domain. The platform initiative seeks to create a website that brings together local universities, funds and R&D-intensive companies in the seven key industry clusters of Dubai to start with, and then expand to other clusters and abroad.
The website will also help increase R&D awareness and support among citizens in Dubai and other stakeholders in the R&D ecosystem, such as platform partners, external service providers, and other government entities.
A round table seminar for key R&D ecosystem operators in Dubai was held recently to engage the potential platform participants.
Maria Al Rais, Director of Business Development at Dubai Economy, said, “We are delighted with the response from the academia and industry. There is keen interest from both sides to join the R&D collaboration platform-based network. The active engagement of potential platform participants already at the platform design phase is pivotal for a successful launch.”