The FINANCIAL — Masdar Institute of Science and Technology, an independent, research-driven graduate-level university focused on advanced energy and sustainable technologies, and BP have signed a multi-year Technology Innovation Collaboration Agreement in support of innovation and entrepreneurship in the UAE, according to BP p.l.c.
According to the agreement, Masdar Institute and BP will jointly contribute US$7 million over six years in Masdar Institute-based innovation and entrepreneurship programs. The two partners will combine BP’s expertise and resources in developing innovation and entrepreneurship with Masdar Institute’s existing programmes to enhance the region’s technology commercialisation capabilities.
The agreement was signed by Mr AbdulKarim AlMazmi, BP General Manager and Chief Representative in the UAE and Dr. Fred Moavenzadeh, President of Masdar Institute in the presence of Mr Vince Cable, UK Secretary of State for Business and Innovation. The ceremony was held during World Future Energy Summit 2014, a global event hosted annually in Abu Dhabi, according to BP p.l.c.
The UK Business Secretary Vince Cable said: "This deal is an innovative partnership between the UK's leading energy company BP and the Masdar Institute of Science and Technology to invest in entrepreneurs with promising technologies.
Currently, Masdar Institute is driving research and innovation along with entrepreneurship through the Institute Center for Innovation and Entrepreneurship (iInnovation), headed by Dr Bruce Walker Ferguson, Professor of Practice, Engineering Systems and Management at Masdar Institute and Vice-Chairman of the Carnegie Institution for Science.
Innovation will also initiate a novel Masdar Institute-based ‘innovation zone’, adapted from free zone structure, to facilitate supportive environment and entrepreneur access to resources. Moreover, it will engage a broad range of stakeholders in periodic discussions on innovation and entrepreneurship in the UAE, while initiating industry-specific, industry-sponsored ecosystem policy councils to accelerate innovation in the country, according to BP p.l.c.
Serving as a key pillar of innovation and human capital, Masdar Institute remains fundamental to Masdar’s core objectives of developing Abu Dhabi’s knowledge economy and finding solutions to humanity’s toughest challenges such as climate change.
Established as an on-going collaboration with the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), Masdar Institute integrates theory and practice to incubate a culture of innovation and entrepreneurship, working to develop the critical thinkers and leaders of tomorrow. With its world-class faculty and top-tier students, the Institute is committed to finding solutions to the challenges of clean energy and climate change through education and research, according to BP p.l.c.
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