(MENAFN- The Peninsula) Doha: Qatar Research, Development and Innovation (QRDI) Council yesterday launched QRDI Portal, an online, national platform that will facilitate strategic connections and collaborations across the innovation and research community making it easier for entities and experts to connect, develop partnerships and unlock various benefits from greater collaboration.
“QRDI Portal is an exciting and one-of kind platform; it brings together entities and experts from across various sectors to connect, develop partnerships, and unlock various benefits from greater collaboration. It's a tool that puts Qatar's widespread innovation and research resources at your fingertips,” Eng. Omar Ali Al Ansari, Secretary General QRDI Council, told The Peninsula.
The portal enables government, businesses, universities, hospitals, labs to work together to overcome challenges and find new innovative solutions, connecting through state-of-the-art facilities, equipment and services that are present in these locations.
“This infrastructure component is the first to be rolled out on QRDI Portal. In fact, the Portal is a five-year project which will continually expand over the years to add more services and functions. For example, QRDI Council plans to launch competitive innovation programs and funding mechanisms. It will definitely be a space to watch,” said Al Ansari.
For years, Qatar has been investing in world-class innovation and research infrastructure. As a result, the Second National Development Strategy (NDS-2) called for a shared platform to optimize synergies across RDI entities. Following NDS-2, QRDI Council produced the national research, development and innovation strategy, QRDI 2030, which determines seven elements to transform the RDI ecosystem over the decade, one of which was“RDI Information Systems.”
QRDI Portal realizes what was requested in both NDS-2 and QRDI 2030; it is a platform that leverages our nation's existing resources and makes them open for anyone to connect with.
“On a national scale, QRDI Portal supports Qatar's goal of becoming a hub for innovation and research activities. By enabling access to world class facilities, labs, equipment and services, international organizations can choose to set up in Qatar to further progress in their research and development activities.
Agencies in Qatar, such as the FZA, IPA and QFC as well as the Council are frequently approached by external organizations interested in innovation and research activities in Qatar and who would like to know more about the kinds of capabilities we have in this country,” said Al Ansari.
“Through a platform like QRDI Portal, we can swiftly direct businesses, government organizations and international parties to the Portal to view the infrastructure available in Qatar, highlighting the breadth and depth of what can be uniquely found here. These collaborations can in turn unlock huge benefits for Qatar by connecting business and government to academia, supporting piloting and testing of new technologies, bringing new products to market. Strategic partnerships or joint projects could also form pathways to new job creation in Qatar,” he added.
All kinds of different users are supposed to benefit from the portal including government ministries, universities, industry players, health sector.
At present the portal has 15 entities which have provided a means to connect with 180 facilities, 2,000 pieces of equipment and 200 services.
Dr. Hassan Rashid Al Derham, President, Qatar University, said,“We were eager to collaborate with QRDI Council on the launch of this strategic and ground-breaking platform. Having invested in specialised facilities and equipment over the last decade, the Portal offers organizations like Qatar University a prime opportunity to extend its services to government ministries, large companies and innovators and researchers currently in Qatar or who want to come to Qatar. Despite the perception that the equipment and facilities at QU are only for students, we have long been open to collaboration with different players and the Portal makes it even easier for us to achieve this goal.”
While, Abdulla Al Misnad, Deputy CEO, Qatar Free Zones Authority, said“As an organisation focused on supporting the development of innovative industries to Qatar, QRDI Portal is an important tool that supports us in showcasing the world-class infrastructure available in Qatar. The Portal helps to bring to light the strong foundation Qatar has laid in its research infrastructure and universities and shows how companies that potentially want to re-locate their R&D activities to Qatar can benefit from this infrastructure to further develop and test their technologies.”
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