Mecca, Saudi Arabia: Umm Al-Qura University in Mecca, Saudi Arabia, got the first innovative GIS incubator centre. The centre aims to encourage students and teachers to participate in patents and technological innovations. University president Bakri Assas unveiled the incubator at a ceremony held in the university campus.
The university’s business & knowledge innovation agency set up the incubator centre in cooperation with the departments of computer science, geography and engineering and the Haj and Umrah Research Institute.
Speaking on the occasion, Assas informed that later on, the university will get a chain of GIS incubator centres. “This support has contributed substantially to an accelerated growth in the field of knowledge, especially science, in a way keeping pace with technological advancements,” he said.
Nabeel Koshak, vice president for business & innovation at the university, explained that the incubator centre would carry out studies and practical research with the active participation of students and teachers. “The incubator system, which is based on knowledge-economy and innovations, would enable students to set up commercial projects that will generate job opportunities for young Saudis. The ambitious project would even enable these students to seek employees for their firms or companies,” he noted.
Adding further Koshak stated, “Efforts are underway to establish an incubator for manufacturing with the support of computers and another one related to sustainable energy. These incubators will be funded by leading industrial companies.”
The incubators are also designed to obtain financial benefits from the university’s research campaigns and transform technological innovations into profitable products, in addition to developing technologies linked to improving Haj and Umrah services.
Source: Arab News
