His Highness Sheikh Hamed Bin Zayed Al Nahyan Chairman of the Abu Dhabi Crown Prince’s Court and Chairman of Khalifa University’s Board of Trustees witnessed the signing of an agreement between the Etisalat BT Innovation Center’s (EBTIC) founding partners Khalifa University Etisalat & BT at the University’s Abu Dhabi campus. The agreement was signed as part of Khalifa University’s exciting Innovation Week.
The agreement cements the continued strong support from the founding partners towards EBTIC by offering funding of AED 110 Million for 5 years in addition to AED 70 Million being provided by ICT Fund who continue to demonstrate strong support of the EBTIC initiative.
EBTIC aims to advance intelligent systems technologies for the Next Generation Networks (NGNs) and NGN-enabled ICT applications and services in order to put in place the support infrastructure to facilitate develop and enable the Digital Networked Economy in the UAE and beyond. Through collaboration with industry universities and governmental organizations EBTIC is expected to become a driving force for innovation in the field of NGN-enabled ICT applications and services both within the Middle East region and beyond.
“We are honored to have HH Sheikh Hamed visit the University campus today. We were especially proud to have him praise the level of innovation achieved by the University and the valuable partnerships held by the university in order to achieve its vision” said Dr. Arif Al Hammadi Executive Vice President of Khalifa University “EBTIC is the first innovation center at Khalifa University that was established with our partners that aim at raising the research profile of the university and the UAE at large. Likewise Khalifa University has also conducted partnerships with government and private institutions to create a number of research centers in areas that are vital to the economy of the UAE. These innovation centers will continue the process of innovation to reinforce the UAE’s leading role in the areas of research both regionally and globally.”
Saleh Al Abdooli Etisalat’s CEO said “Innovation is crucial for our future growth as an operator in an industry where technology is the key to success and EBTIC is an excellent example of this focus. It not just about advancing the science; it’s about creating an innovative mindset that can be utilized in any field. The project has come a long way since inception and has become a first-class example of a successful partnership between academia and industry. By encouraging everyone who is at the center to propose inventions EBTIC is cultivating academic talent and in-depth industry experience. Over the years it is becoming a national center for innovation promoting research and development and training the next generation of Emirati and global inventors to think creatively and impact areas beyond ICT thereby contributing to the increasing level of innovation in the UAE in general.”
“EBTIC’s alignment with the UAE’s 2021 vision and Abu Dhabi’s 2030 vision which is driven by EBTIC has been recognized by ICT Fund Etisalat Khalifa University and BT ” said Dr. Mohammed Ebrahim Al-Mualla board member of EBTIC and Senior Vice President Research & Graduate Studies Khalifa University. “The generous support provided by the partners will help to drive EBTIC’s transformation into a national research and innovation center focusing on next-generation networks and ICT enabled systems which play key roles in a number of fields especially the future of smart cities. This aligns with the UAE’s supreme strategy for science technology and innovation and the national strategy for innovation.”
Dr. Samer Al Samahi EBTIC Director said: “The support that EBTIC is receiving is a testament to our drive for excellence and our multiple achievements such as the filing of international patents on more than 30 inventions so far 10 of which have already been granted and the publishing of over 200 scientific publications and the numerous technology innovation projects and awards won. This agreement is in line with government ambitions to realize the UAE’s transformation into a knowledge economy through investment in ICT education and research and innovation programs.”
As well as the signing ceremony EBTIC held an open house were the center’s researchers and innovators demonstrated presented and exhibited a range of key ICT innovative projects such as Big Data and Advanced Predictive Analytics Intelligent Tweet Analysis Cloud Security Intelligent Revenue Management Indoor and Outdoor Network Design optimizing tool Next Generation Network Synchronization Novel Indoor Localization Demand-Side Management for Building Management Systems.
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