Science & Technology for prosperity
The Arab Science and Technology
Foundation (ASTF)
by Dr. Samir Hamrouni
Director of Research & Development
What has ASTF Done?
•
Networking S&T Community
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Biennial symposium (SRO1- 4),
Database & e-PR program,
Networking Website,
Iraqi S&T community
Collaborative Research
– Virtual Research Centers
– Solar Water Desalination Project
•
Fund Innovative R&D
– 1st pan-Arab merit-based Research Grant program,
– ASTF- IFS (Stockholm) on “ Young Scientist Fund”
program.
•
Investment in Technology
– Bi-annual “Investing in Technology Forum”,
– Establishment of 1st Arab Early Stage VC.
What has ASTF Done?
•
Networking S&T Community
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Establishing 5 Networks to Promote Science & Scientists.
Organized 37 Scientific Events.
Co-Organized 28 Scientific Events.
Events conducted in 11 Arab Countries involving scientists
from around the globe.
Collaborative Research
– Virtual RC on Solar Water Desalination $ 11.2 M with Libyan
fund.
What has ASTF Done?
•
Fund Innovative R&D
– 828 Proposals Received.
– 250 International reviewers participated from 30
countries in Asia, Europe, North and South America and
North Africa.
– 107 Projects Funded.
– Topics of Funded Projects: Material Science, Water,
Energy, Biotechnology, Information & Communication
Technology, Food Sciences, Marine & Aquatic, Health,
Agriculture & Animal Sciences, Environment, Electrical &
Electronic, Mechanics & Construction, Meteorology and
Remote Sensing, Chemical Industries & Petrochemicals,
Drugs & Medicines, Intelligent Systems & Robotics,
Radiation Safely.
– $3.7 million Total fund.
– 504 beneficiaries (researchers and staff) from 14 Arab
Countries.
What has ASTF Done?
•
Investment in Technology
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Network of 500 Arab technopreneurs and investors.
40 Startups supported.
22 Received Independent Funding.
4 Investing in Technology Forums with more than 400
participants from more than 200 organizations.
– 3 regional Awards & Competitions Program.
– Working on Establishing 1 st Arab Seed VC Fund.
06.06.06
07.07.07
08.08.08
09.09.09 ……
Quo vadis, Science & Technology
in Arab World?
Towards a values-based
knowledge society
THE ARAB SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY
PROGRAM
“IZDIHAR”
(Prosperity)
Objectives
◘ To solve: “IZDIHAR” is conceived to help to solve
problems and to answer to society needs and to the
major socio-economic challenges facing the Arab region.
◘ To integrate: This first pan-Arab program helps to
integrate all the capacities of the Arab science and
technology system and to integrate science and
technology in Arab economy.
◘ To create knowledge: to build the value-based knowledge
society in the Arab world
Towards a Values –based knowledge society in The Arab World-Arab Science And Technology Program (5X5=1)
IZDIHAR (prosperity)
T
O
– To solve problems and to answer to market and society needs for sustainable development and employment
creation by the implementation of trans-national and multidisciplinary collaborative scientific research and
technological development
– To maximize their impact by combining technological, industrial, social and cultural aspects.
MUJTAMA’
HAYAT
MA'LUMA
NUMUW
BEE'A
S
(Life)
(Information)
(Development)
(Environment)
O
Agriculture
food and
nutrition
L
V
E
Decision Making
Economic integration
IC Technologies
Health
Biotechnology
(Society)
Application and
integration of
technologies
Nanotechnologies
Environment
technologies
Good governance
Education
New materials
Energy
Production
technologies
Sustainable
development
Trends and changes in
society
Citizenship
Values and knowledge
TO INTEGRATE all the elements of the Arab Science and Technology system
SHABAKA (Network)
For research networking and researchers' mobility.
IBDA‘ (Innovation)
To transform knowledge into products and services.
MULKIYA (Proprietorship)
For technology transfer and the management of
intellectual property and patents.
ISTITHMAR (Investment)
To create the suitable environment to promote investment
in technology.
SHARAAKA (Partnership)
To support research in SMEs and entrepreneurship.
Thematic Areas
◘ HAYAT: (Life)
It’s the programme of life sciences and technologies. It includes
three thematic programmes:
- Agriculture, food & nutrition: To face the growing demand for
safer, healthier and higher quality food and for sustainable use
and production of renewable bio-resources. To meet the growing
demands for safer, healthier and higher quality food and for
sustainable use and production of renewable bio-resources.
Research will also focus on the role of nutrition in promoting and
sustaining health.
- Health: To improve the competitiveness of Arab health-related
industries and business by transforming basic discoveries in
clinical applications, developing new therapies, diagnostic tools
and technologies.
- Biotechnology: taking into account post-genomic research, to
enable real progress at Arab level in medicine (data generation,
standardisation, acquisition and analysis) and improve the
quality of food (control food-related risk)
Thematic Areas
◘ MA’LUMA (Information)
This is the area of Information and Communication
Technologies. It Comprises two thematic programmes:
– Technologies: to stimulate the development in Arab
countries of both hardware and software technologies in order
to increase the competitiveness of Arab industries
– Application and integration of technologies: to make ICT
meet societal challenges and allow Arab citizens the
possibility of benefiting fully from these technologies.
Thematic Areas
◘ NUMUW (Development)
This program aims to promote competitive and sustainable
growth of Arab industry. Industry’s role will not only be to
identify areas of collaboration but also to bring together and
integrate projects. NUMUW includes three thematic
programmes:
– Nanotechnologies: to achieve a critical mass of Arab
capacities (form public research to companies) to develop
and exploit this field.
– New materials: to generate innovative (new and improved)
materials and their technologies for production and
transformation
– Production technologies and processes: to integrate the
new generated results from nanotechnologies and new
materials in various fields (industrial, agricultural, medical,
desalination of water, etc.).
Thematic Areas
◘ BEE’A (Environment)
The program is intended to strengthen the scientific and technological
capacities needed and to coordinate a pan-Arab approach for a
sustainable management of the environment and its resources.
The thematic programmes are three:
– Environment: To focus on environmental technologies to provide
economic and efficient solutions to local specific needs and to
strengthen Arab position in this technologies market.
– Energy: To contribute to cleaner and more sustainable energy
systems (including renewable) and economic and efficient energy
for a competitive Arab region.
– Sustainable Development: to focus on sustainable management
and quality of water and sustainable management of Arab' land
and marine resources.
Thematic Areas
◘ MUJTAMA’ (Society)-1-
 The program is established to support the fact that the Arab region
has witnessed the need for reform/transition (the cost of non
reform is extremely high) in the economic and social spheres.
- Decision-making: Encourage the establishment of advisory
groups and think-tanks regarding the main operational areas facing
problems which impede social and economic development. The
Arab world lacks reference documents (reports) associated with
the social development and economic growth in strategic areas.
- Economic Integration: Analyse some negative aspects of Arab
economies: (lack of regional integration, fragmentation of the
markets, fragility of the financial and monetary sector, widespread
weakness of the sector of services, etc.).
- Good governance: Explore and support the development of good
governance forms to encourage societal change in areas such as
Arab knowledge-based society, regional integration and effective
policy making process.
Thematic Areas
◘ MUJTAMA’ (Society)-2-
- Education: Analyse the role of education in labour market changes and the
relationship between education and employment and school-to-work transition.
Research will also analyse the capacity of education and training to prepare
individuals over their lifetime to a changing environment.
- Trends and changes in society: Taking into account Arab regional
-
-
diversities, to analyse the profound structural and social changes and to provide
knowledge on the interactions between societal trends, changes in family
structures, life chances and cultural patterns and value systems.
Citizenship: Provide innovative and integrated analyses on changing concepts
and practices of citizenship. Research will focus on the study of social movements,
citizens’ initiatives and gender to promote citizens’ participation in the policy
making.
Values and knowledge: Analyse the influence of the various components of
cultural, educational and socio-economic models on the development of values to
formulate transitions strategies towards a values-based knowledge society.
Towards a Values –based knowledge society in The Arab World-Arab Science And Technology Program (5X5=1)
IZDIHAR (prosperity)
T
O
– To solve problems and to answer to market and society needs for sustainable development and employment
creation by the implementation of trans-national and multidisciplinary collaborative scientific research and
technological development
– To maximize their impact by combining technological, industrial, social and cultural aspects.
MUJTAMA’
S
HAYAT
MA'LUMA
NUMUW
BEE'A
(Society)
(Life)
(Information)
(Development)
(Environment)
Decision Making
Economic integration
O
L
V
E
Agriculture
food and
nutrition
IC Technologies
Health
Biotechnology
Application and
integration of
technologies
Nanotechnologies
Environment
technologies
New materials
Energy
Production
technologies
Sustainable
development
Good governance
Education
Trends and changes in
society
Citizenship
Values and knowledge
TO INTEGRATE all the elements of the Arab Science and Technology system
SHABAKA (Network)
For research networking and researchers' mobility.
IBDA‘ (Innovation)
To transform knowledge into products and services.
MULKIYA (Proprietorship)
For technology transfer and the management of
intellectual property and patents.
ISTITHMAR (Investment)
To create the suitable environment to promote investment
in technology.
SHARAAKA (Partnership)
To support research in SMEs and entrepreneurship.
Horizontal Activities
All the activities included in this chapter aim to integrate all the
capacities of the Arab science and technology system and to
integrate science and technology in Arab economy.
Horizontal Activities
◘SHABAKA (Network)
– Arab science and technology observatory: To elaborate Science and
Technology indicators and database, to support Science and Technology
foresight and both to analyse current situation and to identify long term
trends and thus to guide decision making.
– Networks: To integrate the research capacities of participants and to
strengthen scientific and technological excellence on a particular topic.
– Researchers’ mobility and training: To develop and transfer research
competencies and knowledge (from outside to inside and inside to inside) to
help to the consolidation and widening of researchers' career prospects, and
the promotion of excellence in the Arab S&T system.
– Women researchers: To involve women more actively in the Arab S&T
System by disseminating information, training actions, networking activities,
monitoring progress (a set of gender indicators), campaigns and awarenessraising initiatives.
– Young researchers: To help and provide training, mobility and career
development opportunities to young scientists.
– Science and society: To give Science and Technology a higher profile in
the media and education, to centre S&T activities around society needs and
to strengthen the ethical basis of these activities.
Horizontal Activities
◘ IBDA’ (Innovation)
– Technology transfer: To improve the economic and social
impact of research activities by ensuring the better
dissemination of results and to support cooperation
programmes between organisations from academia and
industry, in particular SMEs.
– Innovation: To set up the basis for an Arab innovation system
by promoting a legal framework, networking capacities and
promoting trans-national exchange of experience and the set
up of technology businesses in the region.
Horizontal Activities
◘ MULKIYA (Proprietorship)
– Intellectual property: To offer on-line information, training,
consultation and support on protection rules and intellectual
property and to collaborate in the long-term project for the
creation of the Arab Patents office.
Horizontal Activities
ASTF Investing In Technology Initiative (ITI)
Networking
 Arab Technopreneurs
Network
 Arab Technopreneurs Portal
 Investing In Technology
Forum
Funding
Recognition &
Awareness
 Regional Business Plan
Competitions
 Regional Recognition
Awards
 Top 25
TV Program (Successful
Arab
Technopreneurs)
Capacity
Building
 Angel Investors Group
 Global Startup Program
 VC Fund
 Matchmaking & Strategic
Partnership Linkage
 Introductory Workshops
Mentoring Program
Horizontal Activities
◘ SHARAAKA (Partnership)
◘ Industry-academia partnership: To support cooperation
between public research centres and SMEs through joint
research partnership.
◘ SMEs participation: To encourage SMEs participation. A
predetermined percentage of the whole program (“Izdihar”)
budget relating to the five thematic areas will be allocated to
SMEs.
◘ Entrepreneurship: To provide a wide array of services to
Arab Technology entrepreneurs, which includes assistance in
developing business plans, assistance in patents and
Intellectual Property, assistance in funding and assistance in
technology commercializing.
Strengthening Arab Science
through partnership
benefits all of us.
Building strong Scientific
Program improves the Arab
Community and increases
our mutual understanding.
Thank You
sh@astf.net
www.astf.net