ICT Fund Dedicates AED 22 million in funding to Research and Development for 2011

ICT Fund Opens its Research & Development Workshop to Education and Research Organizations

Dubai, United Arab Emirates - Saturday, June 18th 2011 [ME NewsWire]

Tasked with the initiative to develop homegrown innovative technology solutions, the ICT Fund aims to foster a self-reliant knowledge-based economy in the UAE. Today, the ICT Fund is announcing its Research and Development Funding initiative via a workshop to universities and other research organizations. This workshop, being held at The Palace at The Address in Old Town in Dubai is bringing together professors, representatives from multinational organizations, and government officials to showcase the benefits of the ICT Fund initiatives. The ICT Fund is committing AED 22 million towards its applied and basic research and development initiative, which is one facet of its three-pronged approach to bring the ICT sector to the competitive forefront in the global arena.

Chairman for the ICT Fund, Dr.Abdulqader Al Khayat stated, “The ICT Fund’s initiative will promote growth for the industry in the UAE. Developing the ICT sector in the UAE will continue to diversify our local economy in addition to creating a competitive edge in the global market related to information and communication technology. The workshop and ongoing funding for the ICT sector is a testament to our perseverance in bringing about positive growth in the economy with immediate results.”

The workshop will provide a detailed step-by-step guide on how to attain funding for these research projects in the UAE. Additionally, the ICT Fund will elaborate on the many uses of funding that will better programs within these organizations to foster an optimum environment for the education as well as basic and applied research and development of information and communication technology.

“This workshop is in-line with the core objectives of the ICT Fund. Research and development is one of the three main focus areas of the Fund. It is our aim to create an ICT ‘eco-system.’ That is, a self-reliant ICT industry in the UAE; one that fosters education and applied and basic research in the field of ICT, and encourages innovation and entrepreneurial business ventures,” commented CEO, ICT Fund, Dr. Eesa Bastaki.

“Our vision is to create this outcome in the next 5 years: Made in the UAE, Sold Globally,” he continued. The workshop will cover a general outlook of where the ICT Industry in the UAE stands presently providing a look into which areas of development are preferred for the fund, meaning that the ICT Fund is specifically looking for development in those areas. Dr. Bastaki will also go into extensive detail regarding how professors and other applied and basic research institutions can attain funding for their research projects.

The ICT Fund is enabling this development by funding research and development centers in partnership with universities and research organizations as well as individual research projects in various universities. The ICT Fund will invest in the setup of the physical infrastructure of applied R&D centers in academic, research institutions, and local companies. This will support basic research and applied R&D initiatives with the goal of developing new cutting-edge ICT products, product enhancements, and new services, all of which will benefit the economy of the UAE.

ICT Fund provides generous grants to research projects, which results in the development of applied R&D, and the generation of related patents and research papers. In addition, it is actively supporting the commercialization of applied R&D, leading to the establishment of start-ups in the ICT sector.

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About the ICT Fund:

The ICT Fund provides targeted funding services to companies, organizations, and individuals to empower them to develop the innovation and knowledge capital of the UAE ICT sector with their applied and basic research, education, and entrepreneurship.

The Fund strives to promote a culture of entrepreneurship in the UAE ICT sector and to improve linkage between industry and academia. Additionally, it promotes the involvement of UAE nationals in the realm of scientific and technology research in order to foster self-reliance of technology creation and development in the UAE.

The Fund is driven by a strong vision to make the ICT sector the leading sector in the Middle East through enabling and fostering progressive innovation in the field. Global leadership position for the UAE ICT sector can be attained by investing in innovative ideas that contribute to the intellectual growth of the sector, yielding measurable results.

For more information regarding the ICT Fund, please visit: www.ictfund.gov.ae.

Contacts

Ms. Kholoud Al Abdullah

Communication & Marketing Manager

+971 4 428 8885

comms@ictfund.gov.ae