UAE Vice President and Prime Minister, and Ruler of Dubai Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum has announced a new initiative focused on scientific research and development (R&D) in line with UAE Vision 2021 and Centennial 2071.
Sheikh Mohammed announced the launch of a Platform for Scientific Laboratories, “the first of its kind in the UAE.”
“The UAE is offering a leading global model for the perfect investment in human potential, and providing a scientific environment and research infrastructure that allows great minds to innovate pre-emptive solutions to major challenges facing humanity, constituting a knowledgeable addition to the region and greater world,” Sheikh Mohammed said.
According to the UAE Vice President, the new platform will allow researchers and scientists to access the most advanced laboratory equipment, and create an environment for scientists to exchange knowledge, expertise and scientific results.
“Through this initiative, we are announcing that the UAE has been turned into an open-air laboratory, a beacon for advanced sciences and their applications as well as a scientific innovation environment for shaping the future of the UAE,” he said.
The platform, which represents a gathering of major research institutions in the country, aims to provide an advanced research environment and outstanding infrastructure to improve scientific sectors in the country by reducing the cost of research activities by 30 percent.
It also aims to establish an integrated working system that is based on a solid foundation of activities by scientific research institutions through effective partnerships with leading international research centres.
The platform strives to attract and encourage highly qualified scientists and motivate individuals, including students and all those interested in science to participate in the development of scientific research methods and empower researchers to find cooperation opportunities in the field.
Sheikh Mohammed said, “We urge our scientists to continue research and advancement so as to consolidate our achievements and restore the region’s role as an essential partner in knowledge production, raise the intellectual level and pursue scientific efforts to raise the UAE’s scientific stature on the global stage.”
In addition, the platform will link state laboratories to scientists and experts to ensure the production of knowledge in the country’s investment in specialised laboratories to raise the productivity of research institutions. The platform will work to increase the proportion of operating scientific devices and unifying research capacity in the UAE.
