You’ve heard of Abu Dhabi: oil wealth, The Louvre, capital city. And Dubai is also world renowned: Burjs Al Arab & Khalifa, the shopping malls, Emirates Airlines. But what of Sharjah, the UAE’s third largest & most populous emirate?
Over the last couple of months, the BCB has been working on a truly exciting project in Sharjah supporting the UK’s Future Cities Catapult’s cooperation with American University of Sharjah Enterprises (AUSE) to help Sharjah distinguish itself as a unique research, entrepreneurship and industry innovation leader in the region, and for UK businesses to be at the forefront of delivering that vision.
Underpinning these developments is Sharjah’s position in the UAE as the pre-eminent location for tertiary education. You only need to visit the University City area to see the investment, pride & attention afforded on this and, unique in the Arab world, there is a real ecosystem of research & development functions.
It is this quality academic hinterland that AUSE is looking to tap into with the launch of the Sharjah Research, Technology and Innovation Park (SRTIP) so that aspiring international companies can collaborate with the brains, science & cutting-edge developments coming out of Sharjah’s universities and harness these academic skills into commercial application.
Over the last week of October, we have been supporting the Catapult and eight quality UK SMEs in the tech sector who have come out to Sharjah to showcase their innovative products & services with a view to becoming part of SRTIP when it launches in 2019. Feedback has been positive on both sides with the Sharjah establishment’s very real interest in incorporating the SMEs’ technologies into the projects they are developing being matched by the UK companies’ engagement with Sharjah and the many opportunities it provides.
This project marks the beginning of a long-term formal UK-Sharjah cooperation around science, technology, research & innovation. UK companies interested in participating as this initiative grows should get in touch with us at the BCB so we can route you in.
