The Minister directed the council to define the national priorities for research and development in the UAE and increase its contribution to the sustainable growth of the country, state news agency WAM reported.
Sheikh Abdullah emphasised the importance of collaboration between the government, private, and academic sectors, and added that the council will serve as the cornerstone of the UAE’s research and development ecosystem.
“Today, we are meeting to affirm the encompassing contribution of research and development and its ability to develop the main sectors in the country. The council is the nation’s highest authority for research and development, and we will build on the efforts that have been achieved in order to strengthen the UAE’s research and development capabilities,” the Minister said, according to WAM.
The council’s work will also not be solely limited to the UAE, Sheikh Abdullah said, noting that it will also work to increase the integration and participation of the country in the global science and technology ecosystem.
In its first meeting, the council approved the approach it plans to use to develop national priorities, with a broad focus on the entire spectrum of research, from fundamental research to commercialisation.
The group also highlighted several key pillars of the ecosystem that it will need to focus on. These included: fostering national intellectual capital, increasing the impact of research outputs, developing funding models, fostering collaboration to embed research and development as a pillar of UAE growth, and reviewing current federal research spending.
The council also noted that it is working very closely with the UAE’s private sector and science community in a bid to address current regulations and policies that enable the deployment of research outcomes, WAM reported.
Members the attended the council’s first meeting included Dr. Sultan bin Ahmed Al Jaber, Minister of Industry and Advanced Technology; Hussain bin Ibrahim Al Hammadi, Minister of Education; Mohammed bin Ahmed Al Bowardi, Minister of State for Defence Affairs; Abdullah bin Touq Al Marri, Minister of Economy; Mariam bint Mohammed Almheiri, Minister of Climate Change and the Environment; Sarah bint Yousif Al Amiri, Minister of State for Advanced Technology and the Secretary General of the Emirates Research and Development Council, and Faisal Abdulaziz Al Bannai, Secretary General of the Advanced Technology Research Council.
Council members from academia and research institutions also met, including Professor Eric Xing, President of the Mohammed bin Zayed University of Artificial Intelligence, Professor Ghaleb AlHadrami AlBreiki, Acting Vice Chancellor of the United Arab Emirates University, Dr. Amer Ahmed Sharif, Vice Chancellor of the Mohammed bin Rashid University of Medicine and Health Sciences, and Dr. Stephen Griffiths, Senior Vice President for Research and Development at Khalifa University.
Private sector members in attendance included Badr Salim Al Olama, Executive Director of UAE Clusters at Mubadala Investment Company, Dr. Saleh Al Hashemi, Director of Commercial and In-Country Value at ADNOC, Abdul Nasser bin Kalban, CEO of Emirates Global Aluminium, and Peng Xiao, CEO of G42.
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