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The Qatar Research, Development and Innovation (QRDI) Council, in co-operation with the World Intellectual Property Organisation (WIPO), the Intellectual Property Protection Department at the Ministry of Commerce and Industry, Qatar Development Bank (QDB), and Qatar Science and Technology Park (QSTP), has "successfully concluded" the WIPO Intellectual Property Management Clinic: Leveraging IP for Business Growth and Globalisation.The two-day programme, held in Doha, brought together experts, business leaders, and entrepreneurs to strengthen the role of intellectual property (IP) in advancing innovation, competitiveness, and international expansion for Qatari enterprises.The opening session featured remarks from senior representatives of MoCI, QRDI Council, QSTP, QDB, and Guy Pessach, Director of the IP for Business Division at WIPO. The first day of the programme addressed the growing importance of intangible assets such as innovation, branding, and proprietary knowledge as key drivers of business growth.Participants gained insights into how patents, trademarks, copyrights, and trade secrets can be used strategically to capture value, while case studies from sectors including food and beverages and the creative industries demonstrated practical applications of IP for small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs).Panel discussions explored the challenges and opportunities facing Qatari SMEs in protecting and managing their intellectual property both locally and internationally. Experts provided guidance on avoiding common pitfalls, developing effective IP strategies, and safeguarding digital assets in an increasingly online economy.The agenda also included interactive roundtables where participants developed preliminary IP roadmaps tailored to their businesses, ensuring alignment between IP decisions and long-term growth objectives.The second day saw selected companies take part in one-on-one deep-dive diagnosis and strategy sessions with WIPO experts and representatives from QRDI Council, MoCI, QDB, and QSTP.These private consultations enabled enterprises to refine their IP portfolios, align protection strategies with business goals, and explore monetisation opportunities through licensing, franchising, and partnerships.The successful completion of the Intellectual Property Management Clinic highlights QRDI Council’s ongoing commitment to building a strong innovation ecosystem in Qatar.By equipping local businesses with the tools to harness and protect their intellectual property, QRDI Council continues to drive national efforts to position Qatar as a regional and global hub for research, development, and innovation.

The Qatar Science & Technology Park (QSTP), a member of Qatar Foundation, has wrapped up Creative Labs, a two-week, studio-based training programme where more than 30 students turned their ideas into working prototypes. Hosted at the QSTP and Qatar Scientific Club (QSC), the programme attracted more than 160 applications. By the end of the programme, participants had developed 17 prototypes after an intensive journey through hands-on innovation, design thinking, and technology integration. Teams developed inclusive health wearables, designed playful furniture for the elderly, reimagined single-use event items with biodegradable alternatives such as mycelium and potato starch, and built games that spark conversations about social issues. Each project combined social purpose with emerging technology, encouraging participants to explore problems from fresh angles and to design solutions with impact. Developed with NuVuX, a global leader in creative education, impacting more than 13,000 students and 1,850 teachers through their design-based practices, and delivered in partnership with the QSC and the Ministry of Education and Higher Education (MoEHE), Creative Labs brought high school and university students, educators, mentors, and industry partners together under one roof. “Creative Labs proves what is possible when curiosity and purpose come together,” QSTP Innovation and Entrepreneurship director Hayfa al-Abdulla said. “In our studios, educators and students are not just learning – they are inventing, prototyping, and building solutions the world needs, backed by Qatar’s leading innovation partners.” “The QSTP, through programmes like these, is shaping a generation of impact-driven innovators who will redefine industries, drive new ventures, and disrupt markets,” she said. “We take pride in our collaboration with the QSTP through the Creative Labs programme, empowering students and innovative educators,” said QSC deputy executive director Abdulrahman Saleh Khamis. “By opening our fully equipped and advanced laboratories and workshops to participants, we aim to support the development of promising prototypes and innovations.” “This partnership reflects our shared commitment to fostering research, innovation, and advancing Qatar’s knowledge-based economy,” he said. Participants left with practical solutions and the skills to apply them. The ideas developed hold promise to impact community, meet human purpose, and reinforce the QSTP’s role as a global tech hub, a statement added.

Scientists at the University of California, Davis, have successfully developed new varieties of wheat capable of producing natural fertilizer autonomously, paving the way for reducing air and water pollution globally.The university explained in a statement Saturday that researchers used genetic modification techniques to stimulate the plants to produce additional amounts of certain chemicals, which interact with the soil to form natural fertilizer.The statement pointed out that this innovation could help reduce the costs borne by farmers, in addition to minimizing the negative environmental impacts caused by nitrogen pollution.In this context, Professor in the Department of Plant Sciences at the university Eduardo Blumwald said that this discovery could significantly contribute to ensuring food security by increasing productivity in small farms, especially in regions such as Africa, which face major challenges in this field.Wheat production uses about 18% of the total nitrogen fertilizers produced globally, while plants absorb only between 35%-50% of the nitrogen, with the remainder ending up in water bodies and the atmosphere, causing significant environmental damage.

China has succeeded in matching or surpassing Western industrial technology in cars and trains.But in planes, it’s still woefully behind, a dilemma underscored this week by reports that Chinese airlines intend to order nearly a thousand new jets from Boeing Co and Airbus SE.Commercial Aircraft Corp of China Ltd, as it is formally known, has delivered less than 200 planes since it was established in 2008 and they’re primarily flown by domestic carriers that are state owned also. That’s despite billions of dollars and years of effort into reducing China’s reliance on the duopoly of Airbus and Boeing.As it is, Comac risks falling short of delivering some 75 jets this year.“Any additional Boeing or Airbus narrowbody orders will deal a blow to Comac’s ambitions,” Eric Zhu, Bloomberg Intelligence Asia aviation and defence analyst, said.Comac’s C919 jet, a 158- to 192-seat aircraft, is meant to take on the Airbus A320neo and Boeing’s 737 Max. But it’s struggling to sell internationally, mainly because Comac has been unable to secure certification of its airworthiness from gold-standard regulatory bodies outside of China.Because the C919 is also heavily reliant on Western-made parts, including from the US, Shanghai-based Comac has been in the crosshairs of Washington’s tit-for-tat tariff dispute with Beijing that saw levies rise to as much as 145% before the two committed to a trade deal.Previously, the US restricted some key parts including jet engines from being exported from the US to China, harming Comac’s efforts as its raised output. The single-aisle plane is built mostly with customised versions of parts from other manufacturers, such as engines from CFM International Inc, a Franco-US venture.Comac planned to build and deliver as many as 75 planes this year, according to Cirium. To date, it’s handed over just five C919s to Chinese customers as of mid-August. China’s three biggest airlines — Air China Ltd, China Southern Airlines Co and China Eastern Airlines Co — expected Comac to deliver 32 C919s between them from a coordinated order of 300 planes made over the past 18 months.Comac’s other jet that’s already in the skies is the smaller, regional C909, again operated by mainly domestic carriers as well as Indonesia’s TransNusa. Despite Beijing’s efforts to elevate Comac, the planemaker has placed less than 400 of its C919s to Chinese airlines despite an order book exceeding 1,000, largely populated by domestic aircraft leasing companies.Airbus, meanwhile, which started producing its A320 family of jets in 1988, is about to outsell Boeing for the first time, perhaps as soon as next month, as the pair’s cumulative sales of their cash cow single-aisle jets top close to 12,175 units.“For the time being, Comac is supplementary to Airbus and Boeing,” Lionel Olonga, senior valuations manager at aviation consultancy Cirium, said. “In the mid-2030s, it may have enough production and for replacement of narrow bodies, airlines could pivot to the C919.”Comac has been trying to build an international presence, opening sales offices in Singapore and Hong Kong. It’s also targeted Vietnam, Indonesia and Cambodia to sell its planes. In some cases, it has offered generous financing terms, including even proposing to invest in airlines directly, to secure deals.One area China and Comac is at least seeking less reliance on is its Western supplier base. Comac has been developing a China-made engine that it can deploy on the C919 and other future aircraft models it makes.“Aircraft development and production is one of the hardest things and Comac is still one of the newest kids on the block,” said Alan Lim, director at Singapore-based Alton Aviation Consultancy. In the long run, as the C919 builds up a safe track record, “it may have the potential to challenge the duopoly.”

Techno Q has reported net profit of QR9.8mn on revenues of QR103mn in the first half (H1) of 2025.The majority of the revenue (70.27%) was generated by the company’s core activities relating to the audiovisual systems, hospitality solutions, business solutions and lighting systems.The subsidiary, Techno Q Security Systems accounted for 29.38% of the revenue, primarily from ELV (extra low voltage) and security systems services. A minor contribution came from operations in Saudi Arabia.The H1-2025 performance translated into a gross profit of QR33.6mn."Our H1 performance reflects disciplined execution, margin expansion, and a stronger balance sheet... With a healthy secured backlog and a robust pipeline of Qatar-hosted events, we are confident in our ability to capture additional opportunities across ICT (information, communication and technology), security systems, hospitality solutions, and systems integration," said Zeyad al-Jaidah, co-founder and managing director of Techno Q.However, net earnings declined from QR12.9mn in H1-2024, resulting in a net margin to ease to 9.5% in H1-2025 against 11.7% the year-ago period.Techno Q continues to be in a strong financial position with its total equity at QR120.8mn.The company significantly reduced its bank financing by 60.33% year-on-year to QR0.4mn in H1-2025.The group strengthened its liquidity with cash rising from QR56.1mn in H1-2024 to QR73.4mn in H1-2025, while borrowings decreased from QR1.1mn to QR0.4mn and despite 2024 dividend payments of QR12mn.As a result, total net cash improved from QR43.2mn in H1- 2024 to QR61mn in H1-2025, reflecting enhanced financial flexibility and lower leverage.

Building a sustainable startup ecosystem relies on inspiring a generation of young people to get excited about science, engineering, and technology, according to Make: magazine editor-in-chief Keith Hammond.While Qatar possesses an active startup ecosystem, bringing Maker Faire to the country could complement existing entrepreneurship initiatives by providing hands-on technology education for children and families.  “Maker Faire is many things: It’s a celebration of invention and creativity with technology...it brings together a community of people who are tech-savvy, but inventive, trying to create new devices to make a better world,” Hammond told Gulf Times on the sidelines of Maker Faire Rome – The European Edition.  **media[508915]**Hammond noted that creating early excitement among youth is foundational for any long-term innovation ecosystem.“If a country wants to build a thriving startup ecosystem, it needs a generation of young people excited about innovation, whether that means exploring space, building robots to help their grandparents, or pursuing entirely new ideas. That kind of excitement is exactly what Maker Faire inspires,” Hammond explained.  Hammond agreed that hosting such an event in Qatar aligns with the country’s educational investments and family-oriented culture, offering affordable access to digital tools.  “If we don’t want powerful companies or countries dictating our future, we must empower our own people to understand technology, take control of it, and use it to build the future they want to see,” Hammond said.He added that modern maker education exposes students in schools and libraries to digital fabrication tools, 3D printing, and artificial intelligence, replacing traditional shop classes with digital skills.PancakeBot co-creator Miguel Valenzuela shared how the maker mindset transformed his family’s life, taking an idea from his kitchen table to the White House.  The idea began when Valenzuela read a Make: magazine article about using LEGO elements to build a pancake stamping machine. His three-and-a-half-year-old daughter, Lily Penelope, misheard the story and told her sister Maia that their father was going to build a “pamcake” machine out of LEGO bricks.  “She had provided the scope and the framework. It had to make pancakes, it had to be a machine, and it had to be made entirely out of LEGO bricks,” Valenzuela said.After months of trial and error, the family successfully created a working prototype, displaying it at the 2012 World Maker Faire in New York. By 2014, Valenzuela had developed an Arduino-based version, leading to an invitation to exhibit at the first-and-only White House Maker Faire under President Barack Obama.  Valenzuela stressed that Maker Faire gives children early exposure to public speaking and problem-solving, removing the fear of failure.  “My daughters have been participating in shows since they were about five years old. Through those experiences, they developed the confidence and communication skills to speak comfortably with anyone. Put them on stage, and they have no stage fright: They can discuss innovation, answer questions, and engage with an audience. They have adopted a mindset of, ‘Let’s make it. Let’s do it,’” Valenzuela said.He emphasised that Maker Faire activities offer hands-on participation, making it a natural fit for Qatar’s emphasis on family and community.  “Ninety percent of the activities here offer children some way to participate, engage, or interact. Maker Faire gives you permission to play—to be a kid again. Hosting something like this in Qatar would provide a valuable platform for the world to see what the country has to offer,” Valenzuela noted.  Valenzuela pointed out that the Maker Movement also embraces the principles of STEAM, or science, technology, engineering, arts and mathematics, arguing that creativity is as important as technical skills in encouraging innovation. He noted that technologies such as generative AI can serve as tools for creative expression. At the same time, Maker Faires around the world showcase how engineering and design come together in imaginative projects.  Referring to Qatar's cultural heritage, Valenzuela said artistic expression, from religious iconography to mathematical tessellations in Islamic design, reflects how art, culture and science intersect. He added that technology should be viewed as a tool that enables creativity and expression, stressing that societies are shaped not only by technological advancement but also by the art and culture that bring a human dimension to innovation.