Qatar: The next Silicon Valley?

Industry experts, including Apple co-founder Steve Wozniak discussed the benefits of forming industry-university partnerships as the new business model for success.

The conference entitled 'Partnership Strategies for Corporate R&D' addressed best practices in collaborative research, with experts sharing their practical experiences of how to create successful partnerships and how to best leverage innovation in the marketplace.

Qatar Science & Technology Park (QSTP) is currently at the forefront of industry-university collaboration within Qatar.

Situated in Qatar Foundation's Education City, together with campuses of several leading universities, it seeks to attract companies and entrepreneurs from around the world to develop and commercialise their technology in Qatar.

Applauding QSTP's efforts for facilitating such collaborations Steve Wozniak commented "QSTP is the ideal arrangement, bringing together the minds of leading universities together with industry organisations" and adding that "QSTP is a great move for Qatar".

Also speaking at the conference, Harvard Business School Associate Professor Alan MacCormick drew on the opportunities being provided at QSTP for businesses both in Qatar and globally, stating "You can't hire all the best people, but you can have access to them in collaboration."

This was a view shared by keynote speaker, QSTP Chairman Dr. Tidu Maini who explained "No one has the resources to solve all the problems. You must collaborate and bring together different disciplines."

During his speech Dr. Maini discussed the importance of proximity, and like Silicon Valley, of bringing organisations together under one roof at QSTP, to take advantage of collective expertise and providing access to talent and a technical infrastructure.

The conference closed with a collaborative industry-university R&D case study. Guest speakers discussed the unique local challenges posed by such collaborations in Qatar and of the future opportunities available across the region. Speaking of the resources available and the findings of the conference Texas A&M Associate Professor Dr. Khalid Qarage stated to the 400 strong audience "The soil and the seeds are here. We just need to water them."