Ladies and Gentlemen- I would like to welcome all of you to the ICT Fund Workshop on Research & Development. Thank you all for attending today, and showing your support and interest in the ICT Fund. Today’s agenda will include an outline of the current state of the ICT industry, an overview of the ICT Fund including its ongoing projects, and its progressive plans for the immediate future and beyond. Finally I will show you in detail, the process that should be undertaken in order to apply for, and ultimately benefit from ICT Fund support.
The UAE is ranked number 2 in the region in terms of ICT spending with 12 billion USD spent in 2008. The UAE telecommunication market has grown at a 20% annual growth rate since 2005. The current value is 13.6 billion US Dollars. With regard to the GCC region, the total amount of expected investment in the sector between the years 2010 and 2013 is 180 billion US Dollars. This is an impressive amount of spending in this industry; the UAE has ranked 2nd in terms of expenditure in ICT in the region.
The ICT Fund’s goal is to develop through funding “home-grown” innovative technology solutions, in order to foster a self-reliant knowledge-based economy in the UAE. That being said, our core objectives are to fund research and development, support incubators- which will help realize the innovative ideas of young UAE Nationals, enable start-ups, and enhance educational opportunities in the UAE. By doing so, we will create an ICT “eco-system” in the UAE- meaning we will create an industry that can complete its lifecycle without having to reach beyond the borders of the country in terms of support or resources. We will fund the research and development; we will invest in start-ups that will produce products proudly Made in the UAE which will be Sold Globally. We will enhance educational opportunities, both by student scholarships and funding departments within our prestigious universities.
The ICT Fund will fund research and development centers in partnership with universities and research organizations as well as individual research projects in various universities. We will invest in the setup of the physical infrastructure of Applied R&D Centers in academic and 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.
Currently, we are focusing on the following areas of interest: wireless technology, security and encryption, broadband technology, satellite communications, sensor area networks, and areas of vital National Interest related to ICT. We will invest heavily this year; we have planned to fund a myriad of research projects, several start-ups, and many incubators. The forecasted investment-spending for R&D in 2011 is: AED 22 million for research projects.
The ICT Fund has two projects to date: Ankabut and Be’tha (Scholarship) Program. Ankabut is the United Arab Emirates’ National Research and Education Network (NREN) offering academic institutions very high speed connectivity to other education networks around the world. The goal of Be’tha is to create a specialized and well trained ICT work force in the UAE.
The ICT Fund is the first of its kind in the Middle East. We look forward to inviting you to submit your proposals and launching on a full scale this process of ICT development in the UAE. I will take you through a presentation regarding the ICT industry, and the ICT Fund. I will invite questions before proceeding with the application process portion of the presentation.
Thank you.
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