A delegation from the Gulf Organisation for Industrial Consulting’s (Goic) recently visited Saudi Arabia’s King Abdullah University of Science & Technology (KAUST) to promote cooperation in the fields of scientific research and innovation to support industries in the GCC.
The delegation, headed by Goic secretary general Abdulaziz bin Hamad al-Ageel, held coordination meetings with the senior management to discuss areas of cooperation between KAUST and Goic for the development of GCC industries, and the use of KAUST’s scientific innovations and patents in GCC industrial investments. 
Engineer Nadhmi A al-Nasr, executive vice-president of Administration and Finance at KAUST, highlighted the importance of cooperation between Gulf research universities and parties working to support industrial development. 
He stressed on the “huge potential” of Gulf research universities and centres to deploy “serious efforts” to establish successful partnerships with the industrial sector. 
Al-Nasr said KAUST is a successful model of research universities in the region where industrial innovation in Saudi Arabia and the GCC is supported. He added that KAUST is ready to share its success story with Gulf research institutions operating in the field of industrial research and development. 
Al-Ageel said scientific research and innovation is one of the key pillars of Gulf industrial strategies.
“Industrial diversification cannot be achieved in the absence of a strong research base that is capable of dealing with the industrial community and providing solutions and innovations in line with the goals of Gulf industrial strategies,” al-Ageel said. 
He stressed that Goic is developing a map of the GCC industrial scientific research and innovation capacities to be delivered to industrial companies as part of the set of mechanisms and incentives facilitating partnership and technology transfer between research centres and industrial companies, particularly small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs). 
“In their efforts to achieve Gulf industrial integration, the secretariat general of the GCC and many Gulf government entities are offering great support to these efforts,” he added.
KAUST is a leading university in the Gulf and the world that specialises in research, higher studies, innovation, economic development, technology transfer, and industry collaboration, in addition to the support of entrepreneurship and startup funding. 
It has a comprehensive infrastructure supporting specialised research centres and laboratories. It offers an ideal environment for a unique and widely diverse international research and technical cadre.

Related Story