KNOWLEDGE ECONOMY
Turning scientific discoveries into commercial solutions Abdelali Haoudi, Managing Director of the Medical Biotechnology Park at KAIMRC, discusses the barriers and possible solutions to commercialising academic research in Saudi Arabia and other Arab countries 38
June 2021
Innovations: Why do you feel Arab nations lag behind in converting promising research into commercial and clinical applications? Haoudi: One reason is the lack of coherent national research and development strategies. The research is often more focused on the needs of education programmes. Those dedicated research centres or institutes that have been established are not really well equipped for translating research findings into products and solutions that can have a direct impact on society, health and the economy. Most of the universities in Arab countries lack active technology transfer offices, and their research findings end up being disseminated—and perhaps languishing—only in academic research
AS HR A F HA B I B 20 20
The Medical Biotechnology Park at KAIMRC offers solutions to commercialising academic research in Saudi Arabia.
