The ATRC, an entity mandated to shape Abu Dhabi's advanced technology research and development ecosystem, will have research centres in propulsion, alternative energy and biotechnology, thereby bringing the total number of deep-tech research facilities within its umbrella to 10.
"These three additional centres would support our overall vision and goal of building a diverse R&D ecosystem in the country and the region," Faisal Al Bannai, secretary-general, ATRC, said during a media roundtable.
The centres are expected to attract global experts and nurture local STEM talent to carry out ground-breaking research and shape transformative outcomes.
"We had significant movement when it comes to specific technology research, attracting talent, building relationships globally," Al Bannai said as ATRC marked its first anniversary.
The Propulsion Research Center will cover technologies that enable aerial vehicles to increase performance with regard to speed and range, fuel efficiency, emissions, noise, landing field length and handling. The Alternative Energy Research Center is focused on enabling water security and improving a variety of tech applications. The Biotechnology Research Center is engaged in strengthening the UAE's R&D capabilities in genetic engineering, biomaterials, and autonomous devices among other core areas.
"We want to position Abu Dhabi and the UAE as a world-leading R&D hub globally," he noted.
The ATRC is driving the strategic research priorities of the UAE through its two arms: Technology Innovation Institute (TII), the applied research pillar, and Aspire, the technology programme management pillar, and provide an outlook on the next phase of growth.
Al Bannai also announced the launch of VentureOne – a new commercialisation arm to bring innovative research solutions to market at speed, and monetise all intellectual property (IP) being generated at TII's centres and beyond.
"We are way ahead of our time. Venture One will start hosting some of the technologies coming out of the ATRC and TII for commercialisation. Normally it takes any new centre 3 to 5 years to start commercialisation of products. We have accelerated a number of our developments and research cycles."
VentureOne will help facilitate IP creation, strengthen the startup ecosystem, and boost the market viability of the research breakthroughs to ensure that they go mainstream and impact the widest cross-section of the global population.
"We will be also looking to launch some startups towards the end of the year based on the technologies we are developing. This is a very exciting phase for us as an organisation and a country," Al Bannai added.
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